These Cabbage Rolls – Holubtsi has roots in the Ukrainian dishes of my family using traditional inexpensive ingredients.
Cabbage Rolls – Holubtsi
Cabbage Rolls – Holubtsi is a traditional Ukrainian dish of cabbage leaves filled with a rice bacon onion filling then baked until tender.
Recently I have been baking them 2 ways, one the traditional way, with tomato soup but took the idea from the Nalysnyky I love so much and started cooking them with dill and cream.
They are very nice and a great change from the usual way I make them. They have a creamy texture and the dill flavour really comes through and the cream cuts the sourness of the cabbage.
Cabbage Rolls - Holubtsi
Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
- 2-3 cups of vinegar
- 3 cups of Minute rice or any long grain white rice you prefer
- 1 lb. of bacon (chopped)
- 1 large white onion (chopped)
- ¼ cup of butter or margarine
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the core from the cabbage using a sharp knife.
- Place the cabbage cored side down in a large pot, add the 2 cups of vinegar and enough water to cover the cabbage.
- Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
- Once the cabbage leaves start to separate from the head, carefully using tongs, remove the leaves. Once all the leave are separated from the head allow to cool.
- In a pot make the rice according to package directions.
- Once rice is done move it to a large mixing bowl and add the butter and pepper.
- Meanwhile in a skillet fry the bacon and onion until cooked through but not crunchy.
- Once the bacon and onions are cooked pour over the rice, drippings included. Stir well to combine thoroughly.
- Take a cabbage leaf and split it down the center removing the tough rib part.
- If the leaves are large, slice the half of the cabbage leaf in half again.
- Place a large teaspoon of the filling at one end of the leaf and roll up tucking in the sides.
- Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
- Layer the cabbage rolls in a greased casserole dish.
- You can dot with butter, cover with foil and bake in a 325*F over for 1 ½ hours.
- The way we make them is using 1 can of tomato soup mixed with a half can of water and poured over the casserole.
- Bake for the same amount of time but place foil under the dish as it will cook over!
- And most recently I have been baking them with 1½ cups of whipping cream, with a tsp of fresh chopped dill and 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Combine and pour over the cabbage rolls.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 1½ hours.
Freezing Cabbage Rolls
If you are freezing your cabbage rolls you can do it a few different ways :
- Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray lightly with Pam. Place a the cabbage rolls onto the cookie sheet and pop in the freezer. Once the holubtsi is frozen they can be stored in freezer bags.
- Layer the cabbage rolls into a freezer safe container, preferably one that can go straight into the oven. Cover the container well with plastic wrap then secure it down with foil.
This is the way my Mom had always made cabbage rolls too. They look so delicious. This is my favourite way as I am not much of a meat eater. I haven’t had the cream way. I think I will try that next time I make them,.
Shirley, the cream on the holubtsi is absolutely a must try. It is a beautiful option and adds a nice mellow creaminess to the dish. Though tomato is the way I grew up enjoying them they are really great both ways.
I hope you enjoy! Thanks for stopping by.
I very fondly remember a dish I tasted at age 6 (I am now 68) when I went with my mother to her father’s funeral. It was very small stuffed cabbage rolls and I watched my uncle’s Ukrainian grandmother make them. The filling was rice, bacon and onions, and they were only the size of a man’s finger. I am positive they were served cold, sprinkled with vinegar, but maybe the leftovers were served that way, the next day. I want to finally make a batch so I googled to see if I could find a recipe close to what I remember, and BANG! Your recipe looks like the one, and it probably is extremely similar to the one I had, because my mother is from Edmonton, and that’s where the funeral was. I’m going to try it with both of your sauce suggestions.
Kim! I love the tiny cabbage rolls as well but I definitely do not have the patience to roll them that small!
I hope these bring back some good memories for you when you get the chance to make them. I would do two pans and they with both the cream sauce as well as the tomato sauce. They both give a very different finish to the dish.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your holubtsi!