Holubtsi (голубці, stuffed cabbage rolls)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide heavy pot or Dutch oven with a lid
• •A big stockpot for softening cabbage leaves
• •A wide frying pan for the filling and zasmazhka
• •A small sharp knife for trimming cabbage ribs

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the leaves

   If you're using fermented cabbage leaves, separate them gently, trim the thick rib flat, and rinse only if they taste fiercely salty. If you're using fresh cabbage, cut a cone around the core and lower the whole head into a big pot of salted boiling water. Peel the leaves away as they soften, one by one, until you have 18 to 20 good wrappers. Keep the torn leaves and trimmings; they line the pot and stop the rolls catching.

   Freezing the cabbage head overnight and thawing it gives soft leaves without wrestling a hot pot. It is a modern trick, and I bless it.
2. 2

   Half-cook the rice

   Tip the rinsed rice into salted boiling water and cook until the outside of each grain has swollen but the centre still feels firm when you bite it. Drain well. Don't take it to softness here; it finishes inside the cabbage, drinking tomato and onion as it goes.

3. 3

   Fry the filling

   Warm 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a wide pan and add about two onions with a pinch of salt. Let them go glossy and sweet, then add the mushrooms. At first the pan will look too wet. Keep going until the liquid cooks off, the mushrooms darken, and the smell changes from damp to nutty. Stir in the garlic, rice, half the dill, black pepper, and enough salt that the filling tastes slightly bolder than you think it should.

4. 4

   Roll the holubtsi

   Lay a cabbage leaf rib side down, with the trimmed thick end closest to you. Add a spoonful or two of filling, fold the sides in, and roll it up snugly but not tight. Rice breathes. If a leaf tears, patch it with a scrap and keep moving; the pot is kind to imperfect hands.

5. 5

   Pack the pot

   Line a wide heavy pot with cabbage trimmings, then pack the rolls seam side down in close layers. Tuck in the bay leaves. Stir the tomato passata with the stock, the fermented brine if you're using it, and the sugar if the tomatoes taste sharp, then pour it over the rolls. The liquid should come almost to the top layer, not drown it.

6. 6

   Braise them low

   Bring the pot just to a simmer, cover, and lower the heat until the sauce only murmurs at the edges. You want a soft plip, not a hard boil that knocks the rolls about. Cook until the cabbage cuts with a spoon, the rice is tender, and the kitchen smells sweet-sour instead of raw and cabbagy. Add a splash of stock if the sauce gets too thick before the leaves surrender.

7. 7

   Finish the zasmazhka

   When the rolls are nearly soft, make the zasmazhka. Warm the remaining 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a pan, add the last onion and the grated carrots, and sweat them slowly with a pinch of salt until the carrot slumps and the oil turns orange. Spoon this over the holubtsi, rock the pot gently so the sauce settles around the rolls, and let it cook quietly a little longer until the tomato tastes round.

   This is the one why that decides the dish: the slow-sweated onion and carrot go in near the end so their sweetness sits brightly on the tomato instead of flattening into the long braise.
8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the pot sit covered before serving. Holubtsi should slump a little when lifted, glossy with brick-red sauce, not stand stiff on the plate. Scatter with the remaining dill and serve with smetana or thick oat cream if you like. Tomorrow they will be even better.

Chef Tips

• •If a Ukrainian or Romanian grocer sells whole fermented cabbage leaves, use them. Fresh cabbage works beautifully too; add fermented tomato brine or sauerkraut brine to bring back that older tartness.
• •Don't roll too tightly. The filling swells, and a tight roll splits before it softens.
• •The filling should taste a little over-seasoned before it goes into the leaf. Cabbage and rice are polite ingredients; they drink salt and ask for more.
• •Buckwheat and mushrooms make a beautiful fasting version, especially for Sviat Vechir. Rice is a bit more modern in many homes, and it belongs at the table too.
• •For a richer vegetarian sauce, whisk a spoon of smetana into a ladleful of hot tomato sauce and pour it back at the end. If you're keeping the pot vegan, thick oat cream gives the same soft edge.

Advance Preparation

• •Freeze the cabbage head the night before if you want the easiest leaves; thaw fully before rolling.
• •The filling can be cooked a day ahead and chilled. Bring it back toward room temperature before rolling so your hands don't go numb.
• •Cooked holubtsi improve overnight. Reheat covered over low heat with a splash of stock or tomato if the sauce has tightened.
• •They freeze well in their sauce for up to 2 months. Thaw gently, then reheat slowly so the leaves stay soft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)