HOLUBTSI (Stuffed Cabbage)

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FOR THE FILLING

1/2 lb of cooked ground beef or pork
2 cups rice
2 cups or less of boiling water
1 medium onion diced
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 tablespoons butter or other type of fat
salt and pepper

1). Add the rice to the boiling water.  Stir in the salt.  Bring it to a boil again and let it cook for one minute.  Cover, lower the heat and allow it to stand long enough to absorb the water.  The rice is only partially cooked at this point since it will finish cooking in the holubtsi.

2). Cook the onion in the fat until it is slightly golden.  Mix with the cooked ground beef or pork and season to taste with the salt and pepper.  Season well because the cabbage leaves will absorb some of the taste.  Cool until ready to use.

FOR THE HOLUBTSI

1 large cabbage head

Sauce:

1 large can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste to thicken sauce (if needed)
2 tablespoons or more of butter or bacon fat
salt and pepper

1). Remove the core from the head of the cabbage by cutting around it with a sharp knife.

2). Place the head of cabbage upside down in a large pot and pour boiling water into where the core was.  Cover the head completely.

3). Let it stand until the leaves are soft and easily removable.  Drain and remove the leaves from the head very carefully.  Do not tear them!  Cut off some of the hard center rib of each leaf without removing it from the leaf.

4). Cut the largest leaves into two or three sections and line the bottom of a large pot with them.

5). Place a generous spoonful of the meat and rice filling on the end of one leaf and roll lightly.  Tuck in the ends.  

6). Place the completed rolls in layers in the pot and sprinkle with some sauce and some salt, but do not add too much.  Combine the fat with the sauce first.   The liquid should barely fill the gaps between each holubets.

7). Protect the last layers from burning by covering it with a few large leaves.  

8). Place a lid on the pot and bake in a moderate over at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until both the cabbage and the filling are thoroughly cooked.

Serve hot with chopped crisp bacon and onions, large spoonfuls of sour cream or a mushroom sauce.

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Updated May 20, 2007 - LS

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