Stuffed Cabbage Rolls and Other Comforting Dishes to Enjoy Anytime
- Olga Kurak
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 21
Hello!
Welcome back, everyone! I'm returning to the blog after a two-month break. The New Year and Christmas holidays have flown by in the meantime.
As I pondered what topic to start the blog in 2025 with, I decided to write about food—because it’s always relevant and delicious. In this first post, I’ll share recipes for the dishes I made for Christmas, though they can be cooked anytime, not just for the holidays.
Our Holiday Menu
Last year, I shared how we celebrated Easter in Bali and the festive dishes I cooked using my family’s recipes (you can read that post here). That was easier because I knew my husband would enjoy everything I made.
However, the Christmas menu was trickier since the traditional 12 dishes for Christmas Eve in Ukraine must be meat-free. These dishes often include lots of mushrooms, sauerkraut, and fish—none of which Santiago likes.
I faced a dilemma—what should I do?
So, I decided to prepare non-traditional meat-free dishes—ones that we both enjoy.
Here’s what our holiday menu looked like:
Roast Chicken with Vegetables
I often roast chicken because the recipe is simple and takes minimal time. But this time, I wanted something beyond just "regular roast chicken."
Have you heard of the pre-salting technique? If not, I was also in your shoes!
Pre-salting involves soaking meat, poultry, or fish in a saline solution. This makes the proteins swell and absorb more water, slightly lowering the cooking temperature and resulting in juicy meat or fish.
I used 40 grams of salt per 1 liter of filtered water and let the whole chicken soak for 8 hours.
I also made flavoured butter: I mixed 150 grams of butter (for a 1.5 kg chicken) with spices (salt, chopped rosemary, dried garlic, coriander, paprika, mustard, and basil). I carefully spread it under the chicken’s skin and rubbed the outside and inside.
I placed the prepared chicken on a bed of vegetables (I used whatever veggies were in the fridge) and roasted it at 190°C (convection mode) for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
I’ve never had chicken meat this juicy and tender before!
Pre-salting and flavoured butter recipes can be found on the Instagram page of renowned Ukrainian chef Volodymyr Yaroslavsky.
Olivier Salad
My favourite childhood salad—it was a staple for every holiday. When I first made it for our family, Santiago said, "Oh, Russian salad!" That’s what they call it in Brazil. Since it’s one of the most well-known salads in former Soviet countries, people in Ukraine have been changing its name to avoid associations with "those times." Today, you’ll see different names like winter salad, Kyiv salad, or holiday salad.
For me, it’s simply a salad I love, and I make it with whatever ingredients I have at home.
Ingredients:
Potatoes and boiled eggs (a must-have!)
Ham or boiled veal or chicken
Boiled carrots
Green peas and corn (boiled or canned)
Pickled cucumbers
Fresh cucumber
Onion (I always scald it with boiling water to remove bitterness)
Homemade mayonnaise
Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe: Place 1 fresh, good-quality egg at the bottom of a blender cup, add 100 ml of cold-pressed olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon of mustard, a bit of lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Submerge the blender and start blending—the mixture will thicken quickly. Slowly lift the blender up to mix everything thoroughly. In 1–2 minutes, the mayonnaise is ready! Store it in the fridge for 2–3 days.
Potato Salad
This was the only meat-free dish from my family’s recipe that I made for Christmas. Simple things are often the best: sliced boiled potatoes, pickled cucumbers, onions, cold-pressed olive oil, salt, and pepper. Adjust proportions to taste. I didn’t have many cucumbers, so I added a few capers—it turned out delicious!
Green Salad with Dressing
I make this dressing almost every week. It keeps in the fridge for several days and goes great with all vegetables and greens, as well as grilled vegetables.
Quick and Easy Dressing Recipe:
100 grams of cold-pressed olive oil
1 teaspoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
5 anchovies
A handful of basil leaves
Blend everything for 1 minute. I leave a bit of texture so there are tiny basil leaf pieces in the mixture.
You can tweak this dressing to change the flavours. For example, adding a bit of honey gives it a pleasant sweetness. Mixing two tablespoons of dressing with 2 tablespoons of thick yogurt, a garlic clove, and grated parmesan creates a delicious Caesar salad dressing.
Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Anchovy Butter
While browsing YouTube shorts, I came across a blogger who described an amazing anchovy butter that she spread on bread and topped with tomatoes. I remembered this recipe when thinking of how to "upgrade" my tomato bruschetta.
I improvised the proportions: 50 grams of butter and 4 anchovies. I mixed them but left a bit of texture in the butter. I thought it tasted better that way.
I spread the anchovy butter on toasted sourdough (you can use any favourite bread), added sliced cherry tomatoes mixed with basil, a touch of garlic and onion, olive oil. It’s important to prepare the tomatoes just before serving so they don’t lose their shape. I didn’t add salt to the tomatoes since the anchovies are already quite salty.
Trust me, this will elevate your usual tomato bruschetta! The blogger was right—it’s a shame I didn’t note her name.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Mom’s Recipe)
This is my favourite childhood dish, which I only cooked on my own at the age of 40. Before that, my mom, aunt, and grandmother always made them for me. Making stuffed cabbage rolls takes time—it took me 2 hours, plus 45 minutes of cooking.
By the way, you can’t make "just a few" stuffed cabbage rolls, so you can freeze some for later.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
Ingredients:
150 g of rice (I used unpolished rice)
1 medium cabbage
250 g of pork mince
250 g of chicken mince (you can use veal mince)
1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
Oil (I used olive oil)
Salt, pepper
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
Filling Preparation: Dice the onion and grate the carrot. Add the vegetables to a heated pan with oil and sauté over low heat until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken and pork mince, mix well, add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, and stir in the rice. Cook over low heat for another 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly. Finally, add salt and pepper and let it cool.
Cabbage Preparation: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While it’s heating, remove the cabbage core and outer leaves. Submerge the cabbage in boiling water for 2 minutes, remove it, and peel off the top leaves. Repeat until all the leaves are removed. After removing all the steamed cabbage leaves, trim the thick stems at the base to make it easier to form the stuffed cabbage rolls. If the leaves are large, cut them in half along the thick vein.
Forming the Rolls: In Zakarpattia, where I am from, a skilled cook makes stuffed cabbage rolls the size of a pinky finger. I can’t make them that small, but I try to keep them small!
Place about 1 tablespoon of filling on a cabbage leaf and roll it up. Arrange the rolls in a pot with a thick bottom (place leftover steamed cabbage at the bottom to prevent burning).
Cooking: Pour water mixed with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste over the stuffed cabbage rolls so the liquid doesn’t completely cover them but is visible between the rolls. Add 1 more tablespoon of tomato paste, slightly diluted with water, on top. Cook over low heat for 45–50 minutes.
Serving: Let the rolls rest for at least an hour before serving so they absorb all the juices. Serve with sour cream. This is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day.
Dessert: Chocolate Brownies
I rarely make desserts, and when I do, the recipes must be simple and quick. I’ve baked only one cake in my life—"Brigadeiro"—which I’ve already written about here.
This time, I made brownies using Jamie Oliver’s recipe:
Ingredients:
125 g of dark chocolate (I used 80% sugar-free chocolate)
125 g of butter
2 eggs
125 g of coconut sugar (any sugar will work)
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of flour
Preparation: Melt the chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly, and let it cool for 10 minutes. Separately, whisk the eggs with sugar, add cocoa powder and flour, and whisk again. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.
Pour into a parchment-lined pan and bake for 15 minutes at 190°C. We like it when the center is slightly gooey. If you prefer a denser texture, add another 5 minutes of baking time.
Serve with ice cream and nuts if desired.
I hope you found this interesting! And if you cook something, I hope it’s delicious too :) Feel free to share your favourite recipes in the comments!
Until next time,
Olya.
Comentários