Almost Holubtsi #Cook for Ukraine

This is my second #cook for ukraine post. Holubtsi (little pigeons), traditional stuffed cabbage rolls, take many hours to prepare properly. There are two ways to make them: bake them in the oven or stew them in a pan. Minced meat with rice wrapped in cabbage leaves requires time, fine culinary skills and don´t I know it, passion. Otherwise, the form and the taste of the rolls will suffer. This is my simplified take on Holubtsi ,which carries all the traditional ingredients and flavours but I have deconstructed it and prepared it in a much simpler way. My starting point was Olia Hercules recipe from her book Mamushka (Mother)

She mentions in her  introduction to the recipe that her grandmother used to make a version using wheat berries or buckwheat instead of rice.I liked the sound of this giving the meat a nutty flavour. I put my thinking cap on and made my version with pearl barley.

Almost Holubtsi 

(Repolho Recheado com Almôndegas)  Cabbage stuffed with meatballs

Makes 12 meatballs

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 carrot, grated
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 fresh bay leaf
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 head Savoy cabbage
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
155g beef mince
150g pork mince
100g rice, or 100g pearl barley (optional)

TO SERVE
100ml sour cream
½ small bunch dill, finely chopped

Make the sauce first. Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole. Fry half of the onion and the grated carrot over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes until soft. Add the sugar and the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the bay leaf, tomatoes and 400ml water and season well.Pour in the pearl barley and Set aside
Slice through the cabbage horizontally 1/3 of the way down to create a lid.
Make a series of cuts to form a grid pattern across the bottom 2/3 of the cabbage then make a circular cut around the cabbage about 2.5 cm in from the edge.
Carefully scoop out the cabbage leaving a rimmed bowl.
Mix the minces, seasoning and the remaining diced onion. Make 12 small balls about 25g each
Place the cabbage bowl into an oven proof dish.
Pour some of the sauce with the rice into the bottom of the cabbage bowl and Place the balls on top tucking them next to each other snugly.
Cover with the lid of cabbage.Pour some more sauce over and arond the cabbage and cover the oven dish with foil
Cook over a medium heat for about 1 hour or until cooked through.

Cut through the cabbage to make four wedges and serve  with lots of chopped dill, sourdough bread and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

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