Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls (holopchi a.k.a. holubtsi)
serves approximately 25 - 30 people

2017 - Canada’s 150th                                                                                                                                                                    submitted by Auntie Pat
                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Baba would make holopchi for special occasions; be it Ukrainian Christmas, a wedding or a family get-together.  The filling was composed mainly of rice, but in the Ukraine, buckwheat was commonly used in place of rice. 
 
Making holopchi is a time-consuming process; often taking a whole day to complete from start to finish.  Today, you can buy them already made, but the challenge and satisfaction are in making them yourself and keeping the tradition alive.  Hope the recipe below is helpful.
 
A large roaster will hold approximately 75 medium-sized holopchi.  Once baked, freeze them individually or in quantities desired.  This allows you to pull them out of the freezer anytime needed.
 
 
Ingredients:
 
3 large cabbage
 
 
Filling:
4 cups uncooked long grain rice
8 cups water
3 - 4 tsp. salt
¼ lb. smoked bacon
¼ lb. salt pork
2 lbs. ground pork (or 2 lbs. ground beef)
3 cups finely chopped onions
salt and pepper to taste
 
 
Rice Seasonings (combine in small bowl)
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
3 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. celery salt
 
 
Sauce Suggestions:
 
1 or 2 cans (28 oz.) mashed, diced tomatoes
2 - 4 tbsp. brown sugar
3 - 6 tbsp. lemon juice
salt to taste
Optional:  1 - 2 tbsp. fresh dill
 
1 or 2 cans tomato soup plus 3/4 cans of water per can tomato soup
 
canned tomato sauce  (Optional:  add brown sugar, lemon juice and dill to taste)

Cabbage:  ​

Remove core.  Note:  If the core is not cut back sufficiently, the leaves will not fall away easily from the cabbage.  Fill a large soup pot ½ full of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Carefully, place one cabbage at a time, core side up, into hot (not boiling) water sufficient to cover cabbage.  After five minutes, turn cabbage core side down.  Keep turning.  As leaves show signs of loosening, pull off with tongs and fork (take care not to tear them).  Loosened leaves remain in hot water until semi-translucent and bend easily when squeezed with tongs.  NOTE - not too soft or they will tear when rolling.  Remove.  Place in large container. Cover.  They will continue to soften.  When cool, sort according to size - large green outer leaves (to line roaster bottom and top) - small to medium leaves (large holopchi) - large white leaves cut in half (smaller holopchi).  


Filling:

In large pot, bring 8 cups water to boil.  Add 3 tsp. salt and 4 cups rice (rinsed and drained).  Stir.  Return to boil.  Cover.  Reduce heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes until water is absorbed.  Do not stir.  Do not remove lid.  Remove from heat.  Let stand covered 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir.  Set aside.


While rice is cooking:

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Finely chop salt pork and smoked bacon (rind removed).  Fry over medium heat until clear (not brown).  Add finely chopped onion and cook until onion is soft.  Add ground pork.  Fry until pork is cooked (no longer pink).  Taste.  If needed, sprinkle small amount of salt and pepper on mixture.  TIP:  Cook in batches.

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Put cooked rice in very large bowl and pour cooked pork mixture on top and stir until rice is evenly coated.  
In a small bowl, combine and blend together the rice seasonings.  Add seasonings to rice, little at a time, stirring after each addition to evenly coat.  As you add the seasonings, taste and adjust to your liking.

Sauce:  Before you start assembling the holopchi, decide on which sauce you will be using.  Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and heat through (10 minutes) then remove from heat and set aside to cool.

ASSEMBLY:

Work with half rice filling at a time.  Refrigerate the other half until ready to use.

Shave thick spine from leaves.  Line bottom and sides of large roaster with large green outer cabbage leaves.
Place a whole small or medium-sized leaf in the palm of your hand or use a plate as shown.  Place about 3 tbsp. rice filling near core end.  Fold core end over filling. 

​Fold in sides and roll, squeezing the filling.  The finished holopchi should be tight.  Place in roaster so cabbage leaf opening is on bottom.  Place close together.  Fill the bottom layer.  Spoon a third of the cooled sauce over the first layer of holopci and after each layer.  Optional:  Sprinkle each layer with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.
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Continue until all small to medium-sized leaves are used, then switch to large white leaves that have been cut in half.  These are harder to roll.  Cut hard spine off, it will make it easier to roll.  Hold leaf so long side rests across your palm; place rice in middle; fold sides over, then roll tightly.  

After the last row is completed, top with the remaining third of sauce.  The sauce tends to boil over if too much is added so reserve some sauce to serve with the holopchi.  Place a cookie sheet under the roaster to catch any spills.  Top with leftover outer leaves to keep moisture in and to prevent holopchi from burning.  Aluminum foil may be substituted for cabbage leaves.  Cover with roaster lid.  Lower oven rack so the roaster sits lower rather than higher in the oven.
Bake at 325 degrees until done - approximately 2½ - 3 hours.  They should be tender when pricked with a fork.
Remove from oven.  Let cool for about 30 minutes before removing lid.  Remove the top leaves and discard (tend to burn slightly, but the holopchi inside are fine).  

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Serve with tomato sauce, sour cream or mushroom gravy.


Freezing Cooked Holopchi:  
Cool.  You can freeze them individually or put in them in pans or use both methods.  
Line pan(s) with leftover leaves or aluminum foil.  Arrange holopchi in single or double layers depending on the depth of the pan(s).  Cover, seal and freeze.  
To freeze individually, line cookie sheets with aluminum foil, arrange holopchi close together, but not touching and place in freezer (uncovered).  When firm, remove from trays and place in freezer bags.  This way you can take out any number you want to cook at one time.

Reheating:  Remove from freezer and defrost in refrigerator overnight.  Remove cover and add heated sauce. Cover.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until holopchi are hot.  Cooking time will depend on how frozen they were when put in oven).  

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