In the Kitchen: Halupki (stuffed cabbage)

 

The savoy cabbage in the garden isn't ready yet, but I used a beautiful head of Chinese cabbage and made Halupki.  It wasn't quite the same, but it was a decent home-grown substitute.  I learned how to make it from my French grandmother, who learned it from her Slovenian mother-in-law, my great-grandmother Anna.

1 1/2 lbs ground beef or pork

1 egg

A head of Chinese cabbage, the tough outer leaves stripped off

salt and pepper

2 cups of cooked rice (I cooked mine with broth)

1-2 Tablespoons of dried majoram

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups of pureed tomatoes

1 quart of stock

In a large bowl mix the ground meat, egg, and rice and season with salt, pepper, and the dried herbs.  Pull the leaves off of the cabbage and set aside.  Take a blob of meat/rice and place at the top of a cabbage leaf.  Roll the leaf up, tucking in the sides, and place in a large pot.  When all the filling has been used up, mix the tomato puree and stock, season with salt and pepper, and pour into the large pot over the stuffed cabbage.  Put the lid on and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft and the meat filling is cooked.