Prairie cabbage rolls (holubtsi)
130 min · 30 g protein · 340 cals / serving
The Ukrainian-Canadian cabbage rolls of prairie kitchens and church suppers: tender cabbage leaves wrapped around lean beef, rice, onion and dill, baked slowly on a bed of sauerkraut in a tangy tomato sauce until meltingly soft. A spoon of sour cream-style yogurt on top.
Ingredients
- 1 large head (about 1.8 kg / 4 lb) cabbage, cored; 18 leaves used, the rest chopped
Filling
- 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) long-grain rice white rice
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 550 g (1 1/4 lb) extra-lean (95 % lean) ground beef ground beef (95% lean)
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Sauce
- 250 g (1 cup) sauerkraut, drained
- 1 can (796 ml) canned crushed tomatoes
- 250 ml (1 cup) beef broth
- 2 tsp brown sugar
To serve
- 180 g (3/4 cup) nonfat Greek yogurt
- a little more, chopped fresh dill
Steps
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Lower in the cored cabbage and, as the outer leaves soften (2–3 minutes), peel them off with tongs into a colander. Keep going until you have 18 good leaves; shave down the thick rib on each with a knife so it rolls easily. Chop the leftover cabbage.
- Cook the rice in boiling water 8 minutes, so it is only half done, and drain. Meanwhile, soften the onion and carrot in the oil in a skillet for 7 minutes, add the garlic for 1 minute, and let it cool a little.
- Mix the beef, half-cooked rice, onion mixture, dill, paprika, salt and pepper with your hands. Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the sauerkraut and chopped cabbage in a large roasting pan or 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13-inch) dish. Put about 3 tbsp filling at the rib end of each leaf, fold in the sides and roll up snugly. Pack the rolls seam side down in tight rows on the sauerkraut. Stir the tomatoes, broth and brown sugar together and pour over.
- Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake 1 1/2 hours, until the cabbage is very tender and the filling reaches 160°F. Uncover for the last 15 minutes if the sauce looks thin.
- Serve three rolls each with the sauce and sauerkraut, a dollop of yogurt and a little dill.
Good to know
Is there an easier way to get the leaves off?
Freeze the whole cabbage overnight and thaw it in the fridge: the leaves turn soft and pliable and peel off without boiling.
Can I make them ahead?
They are better the next day. Bake, cool and refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to 3 months, and reheat covered at 350°F until hot through.
Buckwheat instead of rice?
Yes, many Ukrainian families use it, and it's about the same score. Use the same amount of rinsed buckwheat groats, cooked 5 minutes before mixing.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 62
- Protein
- (36%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (19%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (45%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 219 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2040 kcal goes into the pot and 3755 g of ingredients comes out as about 3300 g of food: 62 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.