Tuesday, March 22, 2011

what the heck is haluski?!

Can't take another cod fillet during
meatless Lent Fridays?
Try hearty Polish Haluski!
Before I worked for a newspaper that serves a city with a large central European population, I had never heard of haluski. Ever.
A little snooping around revealed to me that this traditional Polish-Slovakian cabbage dish was very similar to something my mother used to make and I decided to give it a try.
The dish makes a great vegetarian main dish (perfect for Lent) or you can sneak in a bit of bacon on your carnivorous days (as shown in the photo). Using homemade egg noodles makes all the difference in the world but if you're short on time, use good-quality store-bought noodles (like I did). And, if you want to add more protein to this dish, try what others do: stir in some cottage cheese.
ingredients:
  • 1 medium head of cabbage, cored and either shredded or cut into strips
  • 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (you may need more)
  • 8 ounces cooked egg noodles, either homemade or store-bought
  • salt and pepper to taste
Begin by heating butter in a large saute pan or large deep skillet until lightly browned; this is one of the tasty tricks of cooking haluski. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent and slightly browned. Add shredded cabbage and saute for 5 more minutes, tossing thoroughly with the browned butter-onion mixture. Cover and cook another 5 to 10 minutes then add the cooked noodles. Combine everything thoroughly, add a bit more butter if the mixture seems "dry" and cook over low heat, stirring, until noodles are heated through. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Makes 6 servings.
Another tasty addition to haluski is caraway seeds; add them just before covering and cooking the cabbage-onion mixture.
Some people substitute rinsed sauerkraut for the shredded cabbage; I have not tried this version but I think I could learn to love it.
Can't get enough cabbage? Check out:

4 comments:

Gloria said...

Thanks for your comment on my Meat Pie post. I've come to see your blog and you have gorgeous photos with excellent recipes! I'm going to try the Beer Bread (never made it before) and the Lentil Sausage soup recipe is another one I'm going to try. I like to veer off the prescribed ingredient lists, sometimes, not always. Great blog!

Playing with Shells said...

This is the first time I've heard of Haluski, and it looks good! I'll have to try this one!

Lonesome Road Studio said...

The Meat Pies looked wonderful, I'm definitely trying them!
Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Stephanie said...

mmm butter onions cabbage and noodles.. sounds like a good combo

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails