Pisni Holubtsi z Rysom ta Hrybamy (пісні голубці з рисом та грибами, Lenten cabbage rolls)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A large heavy pot or Dutch oven with a lid
• •A wide pan for the zasmazhka
• •A fine sieve or cloth for mushroom liquor
• •A small sharp knife for shaving cabbage ribs

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the mushrooms

   Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with the just-boiled water. Leave them until they soften and the water turns dark and smells like the forest floor after rain. Lift the mushrooms out with your fingers, then pour the soaking liquor through a fine sieve or cloth to catch any grit. Keep every drop of that liquor; it is the broth of the dish.

   If the mushrooms feel sandy, rinse them after soaking, not before. You want their flavor in the water first.
2. 2

   Soften the cabbage

   Cut the core from the cabbage and lower the head into a big pot of salted simmering water. Peel the leaves away as they loosen, one by one, laying them on a tray to cool. Shave the thick rib from each large leaf so it bends without snapping. Keep the torn leaves and small inner leaves for lining the pot.

3. 3

   Half-cook the rice

   Put the rinsed rice in a small pan with enough water to cover it by a finger. Simmer only until the outside softens but the center still has a little chalky bite. Drain it well. The rice must finish inside the cabbage rolls, drinking mushroom liquor and tomato, or the filling turns heavy and dull.

4. 4

   Make the filling

   Chop the soaked mushrooms finely. Warm one tablespoon of sunflower oil in a wide pan and soften half the onion until translucent, then add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the pan smells deep and savory and the mushrooms stop squeaking under the spoon. Stir in the rice, half the dill, salt, pepper, and paprika. Taste it boldly; cabbage will soften the seasoning.

   This filling should taste slightly too strong before rolling. The cabbage and rice will calm it down.
5. 5

   Roll the holubtsi

   Lay a cabbage leaf rib-side down, put a spoonful of filling near the base, fold the sides in, and roll it away from you snugly. Not tight like a parcel from the post office, just firm enough that it holds. My hands remember varenyky folds, but holubtsi ask for a different kindness: tuck, roll, breathe. Repeat until the filling is gone.

6. 6

   Pack the pot

   Oil the bottom of a heavy pot and line it with the torn cabbage leaves. Pack the holubtsi seam-side down in tight layers, like people on a winter bus, close enough to hold each other in place. Pour over the strained mushroom liquor, passata, and tomato paste whisked together. Add the bay leaf. The liquid should come about three-quarters of the way up the rolls; add a splash of water if the pot looks thirsty.

7. 7

   Simmer gently

   Bring the pot to the quietest simmer, then cover and cook until the cabbage turns tender and the rice has swollen inside the rolls. Listen for a soft blip under the lid, not a hard boil. If the pot rattles, lower the heat. Holubtsi like patience more than drama.

8. 8

   Finish the zasmazhka

   While the holubtsi simmer, make the zasmazhka. Warm the remaining sunflower oil in a pan, add the remaining onion, and cook slowly until it goes sweet and glassy. Add the grated carrot and cook until the oil turns orange and the smell changes from raw root to something round and sweet. Spoon this over the top of the pot for the last stretch of cooking so its sweetness sits brightly on the sauce instead of disappearing into it.

   This is the one why that decides the dish: late zasmazhka gives the sauce a bright top note. Early zasmazhka becomes background.
9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the pot rest, covered, until the sauce settles and the rolls stop looking tense. Taste the sauce for salt and a tiny pinch of sugar if your tomatoes are sharp. Serve in deep bowls with dill scattered over, and smetana if your fasting table allows it. The next day, they are even better.

Chef Tips

• •Freeze the whole cabbage overnight if you hate blanching. Thaw it fully and the leaves peel away soft and bendy, no wrestling with a hot cabbage.
• •Dried porcini give the deepest liquor, but mixed dried mushrooms work. Fresh mushrooms alone make a gentler, more modern pot; add a spoon of soy sauce only if you need depth, and don't tell my Aunt Nadia I said so.
• •For a stricter vegan fasting table, skip smetana and finish with dill and a thread of unrefined sunflower oil. That oil is Ukraine in a bottle of oil.
• •Fermented cabbage leaves make sharper, older-tasting holubtsi. If you find a whole sour cabbage at a Ukrainian shop, use it and reduce the salt in the filling.
• •The rolling forgives you. Torn leaves can patch each other, and the tight pot hides all comedy.

Advance Preparation

• •The holubtsi can be fully cooked a day ahead and reheated gently in their sauce. They taste better after a night in the fridge.
• •The cabbage leaves can be blanched or frozen and thawed the day before rolling.
• •The mushrooms can soak several hours ahead; keep the strained liquor covered so none of that dark flavor is lost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)