Holubtsi

Holubtsi are a traditional, festive yet homely dish of Ukrainian cuisine: a filling wrapped in soft cabbage leaves is slowly braised in an aromatic sauce. It is the embodiment of cosy, hearty home cooking, an indispensable adornment of family gatherings.

Today the most common filling is made of a mixture of minced meat and boiled rice with sautéed onion and carrot, seasoned with salt and pepper; the rice-and-meat filling spread from the 1920s–30s, while traditionally buckwheat, millet, or corn grits were used. For wrapping, scalded leaves of white cabbage are used (and in winter soured cabbage, which gives a pleasant tang), into which the filling is neatly placed and formed into small tidy “parcels”. The holubtsi are packed tightly into a cauldron or pot and slowly braised in a sauce based on tomato, sour cream, and stock, until the cabbage becomes tender and the filling succulent and aromatic. Numerous variations also exist: lean holubtsi with mushrooms, grains, or vegetables, as well as tiny “holubchyky” and spring holubtsi wrapped in young beet leaves (in the south-west, in young vine leaves). They are served hot, drizzled with sauce and sour cream. Holubtsi are an example of how from simple products a deep, warming dish full of homely warmth is born.