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Passport & Plate - Halupki

Slovakia | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 3 photos

Ingredients
Ground beef and turkey (3 lbs)
1 large head of green cabbage
1 1/2 cup rice (cooked)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 eggs
Parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 2/3 tbs white sugar

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Place the cabbage in a large stock pot with enough water to cover. Add salt and bring to a boil.
2. Turn cabbage every 2-3 minutes and remove the leaves that separate from the core. Keep leaves in a strainer to cool. All the leaves should fall off within 15 minutes. Reserve 1.5 cups of cabbage water. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Trim the large vein off the bottom of each cabbage leaf.
4. In a large bowl mix ground beef, ground pork, rice, chopped onion, fresh parsley, egg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
5. Put a small amount of the meat mixture in the center of the cabbage leaf. (Depends on the size of the leaf, on average the amount that fits in your palm). Fold sides over the filling, start at the stem and roll the cabbage up until the meat is totally encased. Repeat with remaining intact leaves and mixture.
6. Cut the discarded leaves into pieces and place at bottom of pan. ( I like to think of the cabbage strips as a nest for the rolls). Layer the rolls over the shredded cabbage.
7. In a bowl, mix the tomato sauce, reserved cabbage water, white vinegar, and white sugar. Pour over the cabbage rolls. Cover the pan with aluminium foil.
8. Bake in oven until the center is no longer pink (about 2.5 hours). Baste the stuffed rolls every hour.

 

The story behind this recipe
My mother and I were not particularly close when I was growing up but in the past decade we have bonded over our love of traveling and eating decadent foods. My petite mother studied abroad in fascist Spain while Franco was the dictator, followed by eight weeks of backpacking from Mexico City to the Yucatan- by herself (Mexicans thought she was Spanish due to her Castillano accent). I similarly followed suit by studying abroad for a semester in Barcelona and then moved to the Czech Republic to teach English as a foreign language after I received my college degree. During my second year of living in Prague my mother and I decided to meet in Budapest for the Christmas break.
My mother's family is originally from a tiny town in eastern Slovakia, known for its mining and little else. For some reason my mother never learned how to make traditional Slovak dishes which meant that my siblings and I would have to wait twice a year (Easter and Christmas) to stuff our faces with kielbasa and halupki (stuffed cabbage) that my aunts prepared. For me, halupki represented the holidays and family. I was raised in a Jewish household but twice a year we honored my mother's heritage by celebrating the holidays with her sisters and cousins. The food helped me to identify with my Slovak heritage and eventually propel me to take a leap to move overseas without knowing a Slavic language or having a support system in Prague. We met in Budapest on Christmas eve morning after I took an overnight train and she flew half a day from the US. Since we were staying in a hotel close to the main tourist attracts, we decided to wander the quiet streets and found a Christmas market that was serving halupki and spiced wine. Even though it had begun to snow, we were happy. Our shared love of travel, family, and food came seamlessly together in that moment. Whenever I cook halupki I send a picture to my mother and she always responds, "Remember when we had halupki in Budapest? That was the best".