Kåldolmar – Swedish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

When I was younger, learning the history of Sweden was the Viking times and the times of being a neutral country.  I never knew anything else about Sweden.  As I got older, I wanted to learn more.  I knew that there had to be more than just the Viking sagas.  Though much of the main Viking raids we learn about as children here in the United States where the raids on the shores of England and Western Europe.  Those where by Vikings from Norway and Denmark.  The Swedish Vikings went east.  They traveled down through what is now Russia and into the Middle East.  There have been ruin stones found in Italy and Greece that are from the Vikings from the land of Svear.

As time went on and the lands changed.  Religion altered people’s minds and made rulers fight for different reasons, so did the landscape of the Baltic region.  Sweden became a major Super Power in Northern Europe in the 1600’s.  At that time, during the 30 Year War, under Gustavus Adolphus, Sweden held most of all the land around the Baltic Sea.

There where many battles throughout the last half of the 1600’s.  In 1690, the Queen of Sweden died.  Years later, King Karl XI (or King Charles XI) died of stomach cancer.  That left their young son to be King of Sweden – King Karl XII or King Charles XII.  At 15 years old he became the King during Sweden’s Empire age.  But at the age of 15, most saw this as a weakness for Sweden, so an alliance formed between Denmark–Norway, Saxony–Poland–Lithuania and Russia.  They attacked the lands south of the Baltic sea thus starting the Great Northern War.

By 1706 and the Battle of Narva, King Charles XII and the mighty Swedish Army had the alliance beat.  I’ve read in books where the Swedish Army had 3,000 soldiers and the marched into battle against 30,000 and won!  After defeating the Russians at Narva, Charles XII should have chased the Russian Army and crushed them and Peter the Great, instead he turned his attention to a personal enemy – Augustus the Strong of Poland.  He spent years fighting through Poland and eventually removing Augustus from his throne.  While that was happening, Peter the Great was building up his army in Russia, building it using the Swedish model.

In 1709, as the Swedish Army of 14,000 men invaded Russia, Charles XII and Peter the Greats army met at Poltava.  Charles XII invaded Russia hoping to end the war with a victory instead, his army was destroyed by Peter the Greats army of 45,000 trained men.  Charles XII and some men fled to the Ottoman Empire which is present day Turkey.  Charles XII spent two years in exile (some say up to five years)there before he was able to return to Sweden.  Charles XII convinced the Ottoman Empire in loaning money for the war efforts against Russia.

Ottoman Creditors followed Charles XII back to Sweden to retrieve money that was borrowed.  It’s said that while Charles XII was in the City of Bender, he loved a dish called Dolma – similar to the cabbage cept that it used grape leaves.  In Sweden, grape leaves are uncommon, so the cabbage leaves were used instead, thus making Kåldolmar – the Swedish Cabbage Roll.

A Swedish cookbook by Cajsa Warg first mentioned the Kåldolmar back in 1755.  Though the meal started as a dish from Turkey, it has become a famous dish in Sweden.  On November 30th, the death day of Charles XII, who died in battle in 1718, is “Kåldolmens dag”  the Day of the Cabbage Roll!

I have many books on King Charles XII and of the Great Northern War so when I learned that he was the direct link to this becoming a Swedish dish, I had to make it.  Many of the Swedish cookbooks I own also mention him in the brief story of the meal.  Though he caused the downfall of the Swedish Empire through his constant battles and unwillingness to just end the war,  he brought us the Swedish Cabbage Roll!

Kåldolmar – Swedish Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cabbage
• 1 lbs ground beef
• 2 green peppers, chopped fine
• 2 medium onions, chopped fine
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup chili sauce
• 2 tsp worchestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Core the cabbage.  With a paring knife, cut around the stem freeing the stem from the cabbage.  Bring enough water to cover the head of cabbage to a boil with salt added.  Once the water is at a boil, add the cabbage.  Cover and boil for 7-8 minutes.

Brown the ground beef along with the onions and green peppers.  Cook until the meat is cooked, then drain.

Here is the meat mixture after all the ingredients have been added.

Add the bread crumbs, chili sauce, worchestershire sauce, salt/pepper and marjoram to the meat mixture.  Mix well.

Take the head of cabbage and peel off a leaf.  Place about 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the leaf, starting closer to the stem.  Roll up the cabbage, place a toothpick in it to hold it together.  Place the cabbage roll in another pan.  Repeat until finished, it should make about 15 rolls.

Once all the rolls are in the new pan, pour the tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls.

Cover the pan and cook on a low simmer for an hour.  Once finished, move the cabbage rolls to a plate.  Add the sour cream to the tomato sauce that was left in the pan.  Mix well then pour over the cabbage rolls once they are on the plate.

Serve with boiled potatoes and lingonberry sauce.  Ligonberry can be found at a local IKEA if you have one, or it can be ordered online.  Enjoy!

Though the loss at Poltava was a major defeat for the Swedish Empire in 1710, the war waged on for another 8 years until Charles XII death in 1718 during his invasion of Norway.  He was hit by a projectile in the head.  It’s not clear exactly how he was killed, either by a shot by the enemy, or by the popular theory, by one of his men looking to end the war.  Rumour also says it was an Aid-de-Camp who was friends with Charles XII sister’s husband, who would be next in line to be King is something where to happen to Charles XII…