Polish Halupi: Frugal Recipe With Cabbage, Meat & Rice
I’m thrilled to have you here as we dive into another exciting recipe from around the world. Last year, I had so much fun with my series featuring dishes from 12 different countries, and it seems like you all enjoyed it too!
This year, I’m back with a twist: I’m cooking recipes from five countries that you voted on through my social media channels. This week, we’re exploring a dish from Poland called Halupi. I’ve never tried or made this dish before, so I’m really excited to see how it turns out!
Ingredients
Here’s what we’ll need for our Halupi:
- Head of cabbage
- Onion (I have a massive one here)
- Ground beef
- Tomato sauce
- Diced tomatoes
- Rice
- Various spices
Preparing the Cabbage
To start, we need to prepare the cabbage. The leaves have to be boiled first so we can easily roll them.
- Wash the cabbage thoroughly.
- Place it in a stock pot covered with water.
- Add a pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil, turning occasionally to cook all the leaves evenly.
- Boil for about 15 minutes.
Making the Sauce
While the cabbage is boiling, let’s work on the sauce:
- Chop the onion (half will go in the sauce, and half will mix with the meat).
- Sauté the chopped onions in a bit of olive oil until they’re soft.
- For the sauce, I’m using two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce and some diced tomatoes. You need a total of 28 oz of tomato sauce.
- Stir in the sautéed onions.
- Add salt (two good pinches), pepper (one pinch), white vinegar (about ¼ cup), and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Let the sauce simmer while we finish the other preparations.
Preparing the Filling
Next up, we’ll make the filling for our cabbage rolls:
- Beat one egg (I’m halving the recipe, so I’m using less than what’s listed).
- Mix in ground beef.
- Add the remaining chopped onions to the beef mixture.
- Incorporate 1 ½ cups of cooked rice.
- Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley.
- To make the filling a bit saucy, add a spoonful of the sauce we made.
Mix everything well (I might have used a bigger bowl, but it works).
Assembling the Halupi
Once everything is ready:
- Carefully remove about 12 leaves from the cabbage (they’ll be very soft, so handle them gently).
- Cut out the spiny part of each leaf.
- Place a spoonful of sauce at the bottom of your baking dish.
- Take a cabbage leaf, add a portion of the filling, and roll it up like a burrito, tucking in the sides.
- Place each roll seam-side down in the baking dish.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the rolls.
Baking
- Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for about 2 hours.
Taste Test
After 2 hours, the Halupi is ready:
- The smell is absolutely amazing!
- I cut one open to check the inside—it looks and smells delicious.
- The cabbage rolls are hearty and filling, with a sweet and sour flavor from the tomato sauce and vinegar.
I really enjoyed this dish! It’s something I wouldn’t have thought to make, but it’s surprisingly tasty and satisfying.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it—recipe number two for 2024's Foods from Around the World! We’ve now made something from Ireland and Poland, both of which were delicious. I still have three more countries to cook from, so stay tuned!
If you enjoyed this video, please leave a comment letting me know what foods you'd like to see me try next. Your support really helps my channel grow!
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