Ingredients
Cabbage
- 1large white or savoy cabbage
Filling
- 400 gminced pork and beef
- 300 grice or buckwheat
- 2onions, chopped and fried
- 1carrot, grated
- 1 tspdried dill
- salt
- black pepper
Pot
- rendered pork fat
- stock or tomato juice, to cover
Sauce
- 500 mlpassata
- 200 mlsmetana
- 1 tbspflour
- 1 tspsugar
To serve
- smetana
- dill
Directions
- Freeze the whole cabbage head overnight and thaw it, or core it, boil it, and peel the leaves away as they soften. Shave the thick rib of each leaf flat so that it will roll without cracking.
- Toast the buckwheat in a dry pan before cooking it, which keeps the grains separate and deepens the flavour. Half-cooked, because it finishes inside the roll and absorbs the juices, while fully cooked grain turns to paste.
- Fry the onions and grated carrot in the fat until soft, then mix them with the meat, the grain, dill, salt and pepper.
- Put a spoonful at the base of each leaf, fold the sides in, and roll it into a tight parcel.
- Line the pot with spare leaves, pack the rolls in seam down in tight layers, and pour over stock or tomato juice to just cover them. Weight them with a plate, cover, and simmer very gently for 1 hour 30 minutes, or bake at 160°C (320°F) for 2 hours.
- Serve with more smetana and chopped dill on top.
Technique
- Buckwheat, millet or a mixture are all traditional fillings; rice is the modern default rather than the original.
- A meatless version with mushrooms and buckwheat is standard for Christmas Eve and through Lent.
- They freeze cooked and reheat well, which is why they are made in large batches.
Substitutions
- Savoy cabbage, which peels more easily than white.
- Sauerkraut leaves, for a sour version.
Variations
- Meatless with mushrooms and buckwheat, for Sviata Vecheria.
- Wrapped in beet leaves or grape leaves in summer.
- With a mushroom cream sauce instead of tomato.
History
Cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of rice and minced meat, documented in Ukrainian cooking for many generations, part of the same broader stuffed-leaf tradition found across Eastern Europe and the former Ottoman-influenced Balkans under related names including sarma and japrak, reflecting either shared or independently developed regional cooking techniques built around wrapping a grain-and-meat filling in a leaf. Ukrainian holubtsi’s name is thought to derive from a word connected to doves or pigeons, possibly referencing the wrapped cabbage rolls’ shape, though the exact etymology is debated. They remain closely tied to Ukrainian home cooking and significant family gatherings, traditionally served with a tomato-based or sour cream sauce.
Frequently asked questions
What is Holubtsi?
Holubtsi is a main from Ukraine: cabbage rolls of rice and meat in tomato sauce. Cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of rice and minced meat, documented in Ukrainian cooking for many generations, part of the same broader stuffed-leaf tradition found across Eastern Europe and the former Ottoman-influenced Balkans under related names including sarma and japrak, reflecting either shared or independently developed regional cooking techniques built around wrapping a grain-and-meat filling in a leaf. Ukrainian holubtsi’s name is thought to derive from a word connected to doves or pigeons, possibly referencing the wrapped cabbage rolls’ shape, though the exact etymology is debated. They remain closely tied to Ukrainian home cooking and significant family gatherings, traditionally served with a tomato-based or sour cream sauce.
How long does Holubtsi take to make?
Holubtsi takes 1 hr of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes about 14 rolls. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Holubtsi?
Yes, within limits. Savoy cabbage, which peels more easily than white. Sauerkraut leaves, for a sour version.
What is the most important thing to get right in Holubtsi?
Freeze the whole cabbage head overnight and thaw it, or core it, boil it, and peel the leaves away as they soften. Shave the thick rib of each leaf flat so that it will roll without cracking.
