Chef Lesia
Holubtsi (голубці, stuffed cabbage rolls)
The oldest holubtsi start with a whole fermented cabbage leaf, sour from the barrel, wrapped around rice and fried onion, then stewed until tomato, leaf, and filling become one soft thing.
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Kreplyky (креплики, cabbage-and-bean dumplings)
Created by
These little Lenten dumplings look modest until you cut one open: sweet cabbage, creamy bean, black pepper, and onion oil doing the work meat usually gets praised for.
Main Dishes
Ukrainian
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Make Ahead
1 hr 15 min
Active Time
1 hr 10 min cook•2 hr 25 min total
Yield8 servings
The filling is nearly colorless at first, pale cabbage and pale beans, and then the onions catch in sunflower oil and everything changes. The cabbage goes glossy and sweet, the beans break just enough to hold it together, and black pepper wakes the whole bowl. This is fasting food, yes. It is not punishment.
Kreplyky are folded small, smaller than most varenyky, because they belong to the kind of table where people eat by the bowlful. The dough is simple, flour and hot water, soft enough to roll thin but strong enough to keep the filling in. My aunt would write, "make them neat," which is a terrible measurement and also perfectly clear once you've made the first twenty.
The one thing that decides the dish is the onion oil. Sweat the onions slowly until the smell changes from sharp to sweet, then spoon them over the boiled dumplings at the end. If you stir all that sweetness into the filling too early, it disappears. Let it sit brightly on top, with dill, where everyone can see what kept the fast generous.
Kreplyky are a western Ukrainian fasting dumpling, especially known in Halychyna and neighboring Carpathian kitchens, where Christmas Eve and Lenten tables rely on beans, cabbage, mushrooms, poppy seed, and oil instead of meat or dairy. Their small fold and bean-cabbage filling mark them as a close cousin of varenyky, but the serving style is more frugal and communal: a deep bowl, onion oil, dill, and enough for everyone to take more.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried white beans
Quantity
300g
soaked overnight, or use 700g cooked beans
bay leaf
Quantity
1
small onion
Quantity
1
halved, for the beans
sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
white cabbage
Quantity
700g
finely shredded
onions
Quantity
3 medium
finely diced
unrefined sunflower oil
Quantity
5 tablespoons, plus more for tossing
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
finely grated
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon
sauerkraut brine or lemon juice (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
dill
Quantity
small bunch
finely chopped
plain flour
Quantity
500g, plus more for dusting
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for the dough
just-boiled water
Quantity
250ml
sunflower oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
for the dough
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried white beanssoaked overnight, or use 700g cooked beans | 300g |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| small onionhalved, for the beans | 1 |
| sea salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| white cabbagefinely shredded | 700g |
| onionsfinely diced | 3 medium |
| unrefined sunflower oil | 5 tablespoons, plus more for tossing |
| garlicfinely grated | 2 cloves |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 teaspoon |
| sauerkraut brine or lemon juice (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| dillfinely chopped | small bunch |
| plain flour | 500g, plus more for dusting |
| fine sea saltfor the dough | 1 teaspoon |
| just-boiled water | 250ml |
| sunflower oilfor the dough | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •A wide heavy pan for stewing cabbage
- •A large pot for boiling dumplings
- •A 6cm round cutter or drinking glass
- •A slotted spoon
- •A floured tray
Instructions
- 1
Cook the beans
Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh water, and add the bay leaf and halved onion. Simmer gently until the beans are soft enough to crush between finger and thumb, then salt them and let them sit in their liquor for a few minutes. Drain well. If you're using cooked beans, warm them briefly with the bay leaf so they taste like they belonged here all along.
Beans salted at the end keep their skins tidier. If a few collapse, good. The filling needs some whole beans and some creamy ones. - 2
Stew the cabbage
Warm 3 tablespoons sunflower oil in a wide pan and add two thirds of the diced onions with a pinch of salt. Let them soften slowly until the smell changes from sharp to sweet. Add the cabbage by handfuls, stirring as it wilts, then cook until it is glossy, tender, and beginning to turn pale gold at the edges.
- 3
Finish the filling
Mash half the beans roughly with a fork and leave the rest whole. Stir them into the cabbage with the garlic, black pepper, and a spoon of sauerkraut brine or lemon juice if the filling tastes too flat. It should be savory, sweet, peppery, and firm enough to mound on a spoon. Cool completely before filling, or the dough will sulk and tear.
- 4
Make the dough
Put the flour and salt in a bowl, pour in the just-boiled water and oil, and stir with a spoon until shaggy. When it is cool enough to touch, knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest for at least thirty minutes. Hot-water dough rolls thin without getting brittle, which is exactly what these small dumplings need.
- 5
Roll and cut
Dust the table lightly and roll half the dough thin enough that you can see the shadow of your fingers through it. Cut small rounds, about 6cm across. Keep the scraps covered, because dumpling dough dries faster than you think and then argues with your hands.
- 6
Fill and fold
Put a small teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Fold into a half-moon or a small triangle, pressing the edges firmly so no bean pushes through the seam. My hands remember triangles, but a half-moon feeds people just as well. Lay the finished kreplyky on a floured tray without letting them touch.
- 7
Boil in batches
Bring a big pot of salted water to a lively boil. Drop in the kreplyky in batches and stir once so they don't catch on the bottom. When they float, give them another short minute, then lift them out with a slotted spoon into a warm bowl slicked with sunflower oil. Listen for the change: they stop sounding heavy against the spoon and start tapping lightly.
- 8
Make onion oil
While the dumplings boil, cook the remaining onion in 2 tablespoons sunflower oil until soft, gold-edged, and sweet. Spoon the hot onion oil over the kreplyky, scatter with dill, and turn them gently so every fold shines. Serve in deep bowls, enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian.
Chef Tips
- •The filling must be cool before you fold. Warm filling makes the dough sticky and weak, and then the seams open in the pot.
- •Cooked sauerkraut can replace up to half the fresh cabbage. That version is sharper and very good in winter, especially when the garden is only jars.
- •The dough forgives uneven circles. The seam does not. Press the edges firmly, especially around any whole bean trying to escape.
- •Serve these with smetana if you're not keeping the fast. For the Lenten table, onion oil and dill are enough, and honestly they don't feel like less.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the beans overnight, or cook them up to 3 days ahead and keep them chilled in their cooking liquor.
- •The filling can be made 2 days ahead. Cold filling is easier to fold.
- •Uncooked kreplyky freeze well on a tray, then can be bagged. Boil from frozen, adding a little extra time and trusting the float.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 315g)
Calories
520 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
760 mg
Total Carbohydrates
82 g
Dietary Fiber
11 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
16 g
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