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Photo:Photographer: Rachel Marek, Prop stylist: Holly Dreesman, Food stylist: Gabriel Greco
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Prop stylist: Holly Dreesman, Food stylist: Gabriel Greco
Active Time:35 minsTotal Time:35 minsServings:6 servings
Active Time:35 mins
Active Time:
35 mins
Total Time:35 mins
Total Time:
Servings:6 servings
Servings:
6 servings
Jump to recipe
Compared to its Brassica cousins like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, cabbage is certainly neither the sexiest nor the most popular of the bunch. In fact, unless we’re talking about coleslaw, cabbage is rarely the star of the show in American cuisine.
If we look at Eastern Europe, though, it’s an entirely different story. Growing up in Ukraine, cabbage was a staple, appearing near-daily in borscht and golubtsy (stuffed cabbage rolls), as well as braised, pickled and stuffed into all manner of dumplings. You name it, cabbage was there. Apart from potatoes, it’s the keystone vegetable of Ukrainian cooking.
When I started sharing meals with my husband’s Polish family, I discovered even more cabbage-centric dishes from our part of the world, like bigos (sauerkraut and kielbasa stew, aka hunter’s stew) and haluski.
Pronounced “ha-LOOSH-kee,” this dish consists of buttery egg noodles with caramelized cabbage and onions, seasoned with lots of black pepper. It may have just four ingredients (apart from salt and pepper, that is), but it is way more satisfying than the sum of its humble parts. You may even be tempted to add more ingredients to this minimal combo, but trust me, it is great the way it is.
In some parts of Eastern Europe, the word “haluski” actually refers to plump, irregularly shaped homemade dumplings composed of wheat flour and eggs (similar to German spaetzle), not this dish with store-bought egg noodles. My theory is that in the motherland, people may, in fact, have been making these dumplings from scratch. Then when they arrived in America and had easier access to ready-made dried noodles, they may have simply adapted the recipe.
Seeing as every family’s traditions are slightly different anyway, I’m personally not as concerned with the authenticity of what we call haluski today as I am with its overall appeal. Like I said, it calls for less than a handful of ingredients, many of which you might have on hand, and what you end up with is the epitome of cozy comfort food. Slippery egg noodles mingling with sweet cabbage and onions, enveloped in the creamy richness of butter and punctuated with the mild heat of black pepper.
The secret to great haluski is how you cook the cabbage and onions, which is done in two steps. First, you keep the skillet covered to trap the steam and soften the vegetables. Then you remove the lid and continue to cook the vegetables until golden.
What you ultimately want is cabbage that is soft and silky with a tiny bite remaining in the center, as well as some caramelization around the edges. What you don’t want is cabbage with no color at all, since color equals flavor. You also want to avoid over-caramelizing the vegetables, as the flavor will overpower the noodles.
I highly recommend keeping a head of cabbage in your crisper drawer so you can incorporate haluski seamlessly into your dinner repertoire like I do.
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients4tablespoonsunsalted butter7cupsslicedgreen cabbage(1/2-inch thick, about 1/2 medium head)1mediumyellow onion, halved and sliced 1/2-inch thick3/4teaspoonfinesea salt, divided1/2teaspoonground pepper, divided12ouncesegg noodles
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
4tablespoonsunsalted butter
7cupsslicedgreen cabbage(1/2-inch thick, about 1/2 medium head)
1mediumyellow onion, halved and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3/4teaspoonfinesea salt, divided
1/2teaspoonground pepper, divided
12ouncesegg noodles
Directions
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the cabbage is softened, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions.
Drain the noodles and add to the pot with the vegetables, along with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Serve warm, garnished with more pepper, if desired.
Nutrition InformationServing Size: about 1 1/3 cupsCalories 324, Fat 11g, Saturated Fat 6g, Cholesterol 86mg, Carbohydrates 48g, Total sugars 4g, Added sugars 0g, Protein 10g, Fiber 5g, Sodium 316mg, Potassium 208mg
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: about 1 1/3 cupsCalories 324, Fat 11g, Saturated Fat 6g, Cholesterol 86mg, Carbohydrates 48g, Total sugars 4g, Added sugars 0g, Protein 10g, Fiber 5g, Sodium 316mg, Potassium 208mg
Serving Size: about 1 1/3 cups
Calories 324, Fat 11g, Saturated Fat 6g, Cholesterol 86mg, Carbohydrates 48g, Total sugars 4g, Added sugars 0g, Protein 10g, Fiber 5g, Sodium 316mg, Potassium 208mg
EatingWell.com, November 2023
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