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Babicky Halušky s Kapusta alebo Tvarohom

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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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    Posted: 16 April 2011 at 05:26

Hopefully, what we have up there translates to "Grandma's Halušky with Cabbage or Curd Cheese." I want to stress that I have posted versions of this recipe before, which can be found under various titles: haluski, haluski kapusta, haluski with pot cheese; these were all approximations or other versions that we had found on the internet, but they were NOT Grandma Mary's recipe. This is!

When my wife's grandmother, Mary Macejko, emigrated from a small village named Žakarovce in the Slovak region of the newly formed Czechoslovakia in the early part of the 20th century as a 9-year-old girl, she didn't bring much with her except a language, a religion, traditions and memories:
 
 
 
 
 
Naturally, many of those memories revolved around food and mealtimes, which are always happy occasions for any family. Some of those foods have already been shared here, such as her koláče, her halubky and her hrudka (sometimes called sirets or "Easter cheese"); this recipe, simply called halušky, is another. The folk of Žakarovce are peasants, humble and close to the land, and this meal is so eastern-european peasant, grandma-in-a-head-scarf-digging-for-potatoes-out-behind-the- cottage that you won't believe such goodness can come from the earth. As I told John, so I shall also tell each and every one of you: I COMMAND you to try this! Tongue
 
As the name states, this recipe is for halušky with cabbage or curd cheese (cottage cheese). My wife was very definite on this: when it comes to her grandmother, she only saw her make halušky with cabbage OR cottage cheese. In her family, it was never halušky with cabbage AND cottage cheese. Having said that, i am sure that in some household somewhere in Slovakia, it was made that way. So, there are three options to this: with one, the other or both - the choice is up to you! This preparation will be with cabbage, but I will try to make the other options clear.
 
So, what are halušky? It's very simple and nothing elaborate: halušky are simply home-made noodles or dumplings made from flour, potatoes and egg. in their simplest form, they are boiled with soup or stew, but this preparation goes a step farther, as you shall see. A lexicological note: as far as my research indicates (and i admit that i might be a bit wrong), the difference between haluski, as I have spelled it before, and halušky is simple geography. It seems that the "I" on the end indicates more of a Polish and/or Ukranian origin, while the "Y" at the end points to Slovakia and possibly Russia; also, the little squiggle over the "S" (š) indicates that it should be pronounced with a "sh" sound, as in "halushky." The plural form is "halušky;" the singular form is "haluška."
 
As I said before, this recipe is very close to the land, and all of the ingredients can be commonly found in any supermarket or, more importantly, on any farm. Here are your ingredients for a fairly large meal, fit for a family of 6 (not pictured: the other pound of bacon):
 
  • 2 lbs of smoked, thick-sliced bacon (you could also use ham, sausage (such as kielbasa), pork shoulder, chicken or beef, such as chuck roast, etc.)
  • 1 large head of cabbage or 2 small heads of cabbage OR 1 large container of cottage cheese
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 4 cups of flour
  • 4-6 potatoes, depending on size
  • 2 eggs
  • salt and pepper

That's it! As always, you can cut this in half for a smaller meal.

One note here: in the picture, I have low-fat cottage sheese, simply because that's what we had on hand. You could use this, I suppose, but large curd, 4% cottage cheese would give you a richer end product and a much better experience. Also, if you have access to a cosmopolitan variety of cheeses, you can use slovak "byrzdny" cheese, which is evidently similar to mexican queso fresco or greek feta. Back in the old country in the old days, the byrzdny cheese would have been a very authentic item to use on special occasions; for normal, every-day cooking, the family would use home-made pot cheese, which is similar to cottage cheese, yet drier. When I say "cottage cheese" in this post, you can substitute with any of the above. Hopefully, we will someday have a tutorial on making pot cheese!
 
Here's how it's made: I will warn you now that I was very thorough with the pictures, to the point of being tedious, but this is a very important recipe in our family and I wanted to be as precise as possible in order to get the method across. I have learned over the years that as we lose our older generation, it is up to the next generation to keep the traditions alive, and this is what I am doing, both here and to a larger extend with this entire website.
 
Much of this can be multi-tasked (for instance, you can prepare some ingredients while others are cooking, etc.), and when you make this, you will find your own rhythm - especially if you choose to make it again and again; but here, I will lay it all out step-by-step.
 
First, Put a large pot of water on the stove and put some heat on it so that it can come to a slow boil. You can add some salt if you want to season the water. If it starts boiling before you are ready, simply reduce the heat and cover it until you are ready.
 
Then, slice the bacon into squares an inch or so long:
 
 
As said above, you can use pretty much any meat you want, depending on the direction you want to push this meal. Peasants ate what meat they could get, and stretched it with onions, bread and creations such as halušky. As prepared here, with this much meat, it would obviously be a grand feast, fit for a celebration or holiday - one of the "advantages" of living in America in the 21st Century, I guess....
 
Then, chop your onions:
 
 
You want a good mix of small and medium pieces of onion, with occasional large pieces. This is not le restaurant de l'hôtel grand de haute cuisine ŕ Paris!
 
Next, cut your cabbage in half, if you will be using cabbage, then cut out the core and slice half of it in fairly-wide strips as shown here:
 
 
You can do it all this way, or you can do the other half of the cabbage in narrower strips:
 
 
To make the halušky dough, peel your potatoes and divide them into quarters, sixths or eighths, depending on size:
 
 
you want them in cubes of a similar size as if you were boiling potatoes to mash them, which is pretty much what you're going to do!
 
Cover them with an inch of cold water and then boil them for 10-15 minutes, or until they are fork-tender:
 
 
Then drain them thoroughly, letting them sit a minute or two until their heat gets them on the dry side:
 
 
Then put them in a large bowl and mash them with a fork or a potato masher:
 
 
You want them to be very thoroughly mashed, until they have a fluffy texture and there are no visible "chunks," but you do not want them too liquidy or pasty, either.
 
Next, add your flour:
 
 
Then your eggs, then salt and pepper to taste:
 
 
Stir this mixture until everything starts to come together, then knead with your hands a minute or two, until you have a good dough:
 
 
You want it to be fairly smooth and fairly stiff, but not too much so; if you can press it into the bottom of the bowl and turn it out as shown above without it spreading out, you should be good - otherwise, you may need to add a little more flour if it is too soft.
 
If you haven't yet started the bacon, you can cover or wrap your dough and do so now. I prepared the meal in our Dutch oven, but anything of similar size will do. What you want to do is start the bacon over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary as it cooks and renders out much of the fat. If you are not using bacon or some other "fatty" meat, then simply use whatever meat you choose, using a little butter or olive or canola oil. Stir it often to avoid burning, sticking etc.; you would rather cook it slowly than quickly. It will be ready when it starts to look like this:
 
 
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, letting the fat drain back into the pan, and set the bacon aside on a layer of paper towels to drain:
 
 
Next, remove all but a little of the bacon fat, reserving it in case you need more, and start your onions in the same pan:
 
 
Once again, you want to cook them slowly, starting over medium heat, stirring often, until they take on a translucent look and just begin to get some carmelisation. Then add your bacon back in:
 
 
If you are making this with cottage cheese only, then skip this next step; simply maintain your bacon and onions at a low heat, stirring occasionally, and skip down to the making of the halušky.
 
Otherwise, add all of the cabbage:
 
 
This will look like a huge amount of food in the pan, but as anyone who has cooked with cabbage knows, it will cook down quickly and dramatically. This is why a large pot or Dutch oven will come in handy, but a large frying pan or sauté-type pan should also work well.
 
Cook this lovely mixture, stirring often and letting the cabbage cook down. Reduce heat as necessary if it looks like it is going to start burning.
 
Meanwhile, let's get those halušky started! Hopefully your water is at a slow boil by now!
 
Divide your dough into workable portions, maybe a quarter or a half of the whole, depending on whether you made this entire recipe or cut it in half. Then roll it out like this:
 
 
You're looking for a decent thickness, I'd say maybe half an inch, but don't hold me to it - I didn't take measurements, so try to use the photos as a guide. Next, cut the dough into strips maybe an inch wide or so:
 
 
A pizza cutter works great, but any blade will do. Once you get them cut all one direction, make cuts in the opposite direction:
 
 
You're shooting for halušky that are maybe an inch or two long, no more than three, by an inch or so wide. See my comments above referencing the fact that this is peasant cooking and they do not have to be a uniform, exact size!
 
Now comes the fun part ~ pick up a few of the halušky:
 
 
Hold them out over the slowly-boiling pot of water:
 
 
And drop them in, where they will sink like a stone:
 
 
After a minute or so, they will float to the top when done:
 
 
Let them cook just a moment or two longer, to make sure they are thoroughly done inside, then remove them with a slotted spoon, letting them drain for a few seconds:
 
 
And drop them into a bowl of some kind until all are finished:
 
 
Repeat as necessary until all the dough is gone.
 
By the time you are done making the halušky, your cabbage should be cooked down, with the thicker pieces still maintaining just a bit of crunch - and your bacon and onions should be working with it to create a beautiful aroma:
 
 
Simply add the halušky to the bacon/onion mixture (if you are using cottage cheese, now would be the time to add it):
 
 
And stir it around thoroughly, mixing everything together and getting all those wonderful flavours onto your halušky:
 
 
After simmering for a few minutes, the liquids in the pan will thicken up a bit, and your halušky might brown a little, which is perfectly fine. It is at this time that your wonderful peasant meal is ready to serve:
 
 
I imagine that someone who has no connection to eastern-European peasant cooking will think this looks rather humble on a plate, but a closer look will reveal a treasure of goodness:
 
 
The potato-based halušky fluff up beautifully when cooked, and the onions, bacon and cabbage work together to provide the most basic and humble, yet delicious flavours. This is very much a meal that comes from the land, and will take you straight to a small, eastern-European village a hundred or three years ago.
 
 
I can't stress enough how good this meal is, and I will remain forever grateful to my wife's Grandma Mary for bringing this with her from Žakarovce. It is truly one of the best meals I have ever had!
 
 
Now, as I said before, you are all commanded to go forth and prepare this meal! It is versatile enough that it can be tailored to any taste, and it will certainly be a journey that you will not regret!


Edited by TasunkaWitko
TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 April 2011 at 08:32
Now I'm hungry and no cabbage in the houseConfused
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 April 2011 at 08:43

Just for the record Czechoslovakia was founded in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on May 31, 1918.  The Pittsburgh Agreement paved the way for the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia and was signed by a group of 20 Czechs, Slovaks, and Rusyns on May 31, 1918. The agreement, signed in the Moose Hall in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, declared the intent of the American representatives of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, and Czech Silesia, to create an independent state to be known as Czecho-Slovakia, as spelled in the document,[2] and is often compared to the United States' Declaration of Independence.

Unfortunately, that Moose hall, a grand building, was ripped down about 10 years ago to up up a music hall in the 'cultural district'.  I use to walk by it daily to my office.  The Chech constitution and initial statutes were drawn up by a local law firm (which never got paid for it's work).  I guess some attorneys do good things.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 April 2011 at 04:50

hey, bear ~ cabbage is cheap, go get some! keep in mind that my ingredients above are for a large family, so you may want to cut it in half. this is great stuff!

and many, many thanks for the interesting historical information! i did not know this, and will be adding it to my post at FOTW when i get the chance!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soggyshooter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 April 2011 at 10:18
That's darn close to a cabbage and spatzle recipe we use.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 April 2011 at 10:50
aye, jeff - pretty much the same thing, really. you can find variations of this all over europe from germany to russia and south to italy, in the form of gnocchi.
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