If you’re looking to cook something a little outside the box, try this Halupki recipe and you won’t be disappointed! Halu-what now I hear you say? Halupki, also known as Holubky (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls), is a dish from the Slovak region of Eastern Europe.
The Halupkis, which are rolled cabbage leaves, are stuffed with deliciously flavored meat and rice and then baked in a rich tomato sauce. They are super tasty! And how did I hear about them? There’s an amazing street food market in my local town on weekends and they were served at a special stall with Eastern European delicacies. I had to ask how to make them! So this is a real authentic Halupki recipe, with a few of my own tweaks of course!
To make the Authentic Halupki, you will need the following ingredients:
Put the cabbage in a pot, add a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and cover with water. Bring the water to boil and cook the cabbage until the leaves are tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve one cup of the water and drain the rest. Place the leaves in a colander to cool.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Remove the thick centre from the bottom of each cabbage leaf.
Combine the ground beef and pork, rice, scallions, parsley, egg, garlic powder and seasoning in a large bowl.
Take a spoonful of the meat mixture and place in the center of a cabbage leaf, folding the sides of the leaf over until you have a roll. Repeat until you have used all of the mixture.
If you have any leftover leaves, cut them roughly and lay them in the bottom of a roasting tray. Place the stuffed cabbage rolls over the top.
Combine the tomato sauce, cabbage water, vinegar, and sugar together in a bowl.
Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the cabbage rolls and cover the dish with foil.
Bake the rolls for around 2 and a half hours, basting the rolls in the tomato sauce every hour or so.
There’s something very therapeutic about making these Halupki (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls), the whole process sends me off into a trance! And for the amazing dish you get at the end of it, it’s totally worth the effort. Try a something new and have a go at making them - let me know how you get on and tag #cookmerecipes in your posts and photos!
I grew up with these. My late mom is 1st generation American Slovak and she baked them in a rue sauce, not tomatoes and served with fresh seeded rye bread and butter. Just fabulous.
Reply to Lyn:
Hi, Lyn! Thank you for paying attention to our recipe! Sure, you can make this ahead of time.
