Grandpa's Holubki (Cabbage Rolls)

A cabbage roll is a dish that many immigrants claimed as their own when they came to America in search of a better life. I only know it as Holubki, a recipe handed down to me by my grandfather, George Haluska, who was Carpatho-Rusyn. My great grandmother, who was a first generation immigrant, passed this family recipe down to my grandpa years ago. He picked up his culinary skills while on KP duty in the Merchant Marines and eventually spiced it up a bit. The original recipe has been modified throughout the years by our family and there have been some debates over whose version is the best. No two batches are alike. Feel free to improvise, just like Grandpa taught me. He and Grandma gave me a recipe box as an engagement gift and this was one of the first meals I made from scratch after I was married. It’s a bit time consuming, but worth the effort. I posted the recipe at the request of a reader who was curious, after seeing my birthday tribute to Grandpa, which mentioned the recipe.

Recipe for Holubki (Cabbage Rolls)

Mix ingredients for filling:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb veal sausage (If money was tight, Grandpa would use more ground beef)

1 lb pork sausage (we use a spicy one)

1 cup rice (undercooked-just barely)

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 cup mushrooms (finely chopped)

1 celery stalk (finely chopped)

2-3 gloved minced garlic

1 egg beaten

Add spices to your meat mixture to your taste: (Grandpa didn’t measure)

Dill

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp prepared mustard

2 T horseradish

Paprika

Tarragon

Thyme

Salt

Pepper

(Set aside)

Prepare cabbage:

Take: 2 heads green cabbage, cut core out and put in boiling water. Remove leaves as they soften. Boil just enough to soften leaves so they don’t break.. so you can easily roll the cabbage leaves around the meat and rice mixture. Save broken cabbage leaves to line pan to prevent cabbage rolls from sticking. Save some cabbage water for the sauce.

Directions for rolling cabbage:

Place cabbage leaves on clean dry surface and place desired amount of meat and rice mixture onto each cabbage roll (depending on size of each leaf)

Roll leaf tightly and secure with toothpick

Prepare roasting pan:

Grease or spray pan and line with any broken cabbage leaves first. Then, place cabbage rolls in pan and top with a mixture of tomato sauce, sour cream and spices.

Blend recipe for tomato sauce mixture:

(1) 28 ounce can tomato sauce

(1) 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 pint-1 quart of light sour cream (depending on how creamy you like it, or for non-dairy fans, omit and/or serve on the side.)

1/4 cup of reserved cabbage water (optional-Grandpa’s method, not mine)

Dill

Paprika

Salt

Pepper

Dash of brown sugar

Bake covered at 275 for 2 hours, or for faster results, at 325 for one hour, until meat is thoroughly cooked. Baste during cooking and be careful not to burn cabbage if cooked at higher heat.

Zabelicious Tips:

Holubki tastes even better the next day and can be frozen for future use. If you omit the sour cream, consider adding another can of tomato sauce in place of it so there is enough sauce.