5
Employee Profiles
and Recipes
Bill Ryzniczuk
CULINARY RESEARCH TECHNICIAN
“I’ve enjoyed working with a variety of food industries to explore ways to define the quality of their products. The challenges I’ve faced range from characterizing everything from the texture of fried chicken and the flavour of a poppy seed to the colour of a mayonnaise.”
Bill Ryzniczuk
Bill’s work at Prairie Research Kitchen draws on extensive food science knowledge and an impressive set of innovative culinary skills.
He’s a graduate of the Food Science program at the University of Manitoba, the Culinary Arts program at RRC Polytech, and the Meat Processing program at Olds College. He also has 15 years of experience in the food retail, service, and manufacturing industries.
Bill chose this recipe because it perfectly demonstrates how PRK’s skilled chefs drive innovation through culinary knowledge and techniques while supporting the food industry’s drive to identify new applications for pulses, grains, and other crops.
FUN FACT: Thanks to his background in meat processing, Bill cures his own ham, bacon, and sausage at home. He also keeps his coworkers informed about weekly grocery deals.
Beef and Bean Cabbage Rolls
Source: Pulse Canada Food Service Project
YIELD: 24 ROLLS/1 HOTEL PAN
Filling
1 kg | beef and navy bean blend (75% beef/25% mashed navy beans) |
1 kg | navy beans, cooked to Level 2 doneness (See Pulse Canada Project, Chapter 2) |
340 g | onion, medium dice |
40 g | garlic, minced |
500 g | water |
18 g | salt |
6 g | caraway seeds |
2.4 g | nutmeg |
Sauce
3.38 kg | canned tomatoes, diced |
8 | bay leaves |
8 | sprigs thyme, fresh |
340 g | onion, small dice |
584 g | red bell pepper, small dice |
24 g | paprika |
40 g | garlic, minced |
16 g | salt |
14 g | pepper, ground |
24 | bacon strips |
24 | cabbage leaves |
Filling
- Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat without developing any colour.
- Add the beef and navy bean blend and sauté until the bottom of the pan begins to brown lightly.
- Add the cooked navy beans, water, caraway seed, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer on low heat until the filling becomes thick and no water remains in the pan.
Sauce
- Sauté the onion and pepper over medium heat without developing any colour.
- Add the diced tomatoes, paprika, garlic salt, pepper, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Stir until combined.
- Simmer the sauce over low heat until the sauce begins to thicken and the tomatoes and onions start to break down.
- Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. Reserve the sauce to put overtop the cabbage rolls before baking.
Cabbage leaves
- Blanch a whole head of cabbage in simmering water and gently remove the outer leaves as they become loose. Take care not to rip or damage the leaves.
- Allow the leaves to cool until they can be handled.
Assembly
- Place 120 g of filling on the round end of the cabbage leaf, tuck in the sides, and roll tightly to form a tight cabbage roll.
- Repeat until all the cabbage rolls are filled.
- Fill a hotel pan with a single layer of cabbage rolls and cover with the sauce.
- Layer strips of bacon overtop the cabbage rolls.
- Bake in a 375°F oven for 1 hour.
Dice and brown the cooked bacon to garnish the cabbage rolls.
Did You Know?: Few foods say Manitoba better than cabbage rolls. Cabbage rolls are common to a variety of cuisines from around the world, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Ukrainian holubtsi are both a national favourite in Ukraine and in Manitoba, home to a proud and vibrant Ukrainian community. In 2022, more than 13 per cent of Manitobans claimed Ukrainian ancestry, well over the 3.6 per cent national average.