Stuffed cabbage, Halupki, Golumpki, gwumpki - depending on what part of Central and Eastern Europe your family hails from, are all very similar stick-to-your-ribs, fill your belly G-O-O-D! Most traditional Polish foods you will encounter today are flavorful, hearty and complex, but they also have a lighter side, too. My Mother's family came here from Czechoslovakia and the Ukraine, and the foods are so traditional, yet scrumptious!
Mom's Recipe card (along with my "little kid" doodling and coffee mug rings!)
Halupki
* 1 lb. Ground Beef
* 1 Cup of Rice, cooked
*1/2 Cup Chopped, cooked onion, minced
* 1 egg
* 1 Lg. can diced tomatoes
* 1 head of cabbage
* Salt & Pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
1) Place whole head of cabbage in a large pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
2) Remove from water and place in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature. (Just recently, I saw an old re-run of Julia Child's show and she placed the whole head of washed cabbage in the freezer instead of boiling it and she said that the cabbage leaves are equally pliable! Who knew? I haven't tried it that way yet!)
3) Saute onion, let cool.
4) In a large bowl, combine ground beef, egg and rice, salt and pepper, onion and mix well.
5) Take a cabbage leaf and pare off the thick end. Form the meat mixture into an oval shape and roll up into the cabbage leaf. Continue until all the meat is used up.
6) Place a few spoonfuls of tomatoes in bottom of baking dish. Lay the stuffed cabbage rolls on top and then spoon some tomatoes on top. Add salt and pepper and cover with foil. Bake for one hour or until hot and bubbly. (My mom used to cook these in her pressure cooker for 25 minutes, but I prefer to bake them.)
I served the Halupki with a bottle of Ravenswood Red Zinfindel and it sure hit the spot with plenty leftovers to freeze for another meal! Pure comfort!!!!
Hi Jodi -
ReplyDeleteYou brought back memories of your mother with this recipe. We had a small party at my home way back when and your mother brought her pressure cooker full of the stuffed cabbages (or as my Polish husband would say golumpi). They were so delicious and she continued to tell the story that whenever she cooked them in the summertime and only the screen door was there from the outside the flies would be all over the screen because they loved the smell of the cabbage cooking. You remind me so much of your mother because you always have stories to go along with the serious. You definitely gave me an idea....tonight we are having golumpi!
Love, Dorinda