Wow Ukrainian

somerville kitchen had the pleasure of hosting a Ukrainian male version of a 'baba' to make us голубці.

(By the way, while the word 'baba' may be derogatory in Russian, it is not in Ukrainian. It simply means grandmother. In Arabic, it means daddy).

The production was majestic to say the least. "This is way too much food" I tell the 'baba'. "But this is the only way to cook it" replies the 'baba'. Well, it freezes well.

By the way, голубці (holubtsi) is cabbage roll.

Rather than being stuffed with lots of rice and a bit of meat, this was heavy on the meat and very light on the rice. 

In addition to beef, the stuffing included chunks of smoked pork.

The amount of stuffing produced was humongous and it took two large cabbages to absorb it all.

Along the way, I learnt the authentic Ukranian layering of the pot - how beautiful this looked.

They were not exceptionally thick as you'd see commercially, which meant hours and hours of rolling for the poor 'baba'.

And then there were more hours of low heat cooking to produce a fantastic голубці feast.

Thank you dear 'baba' for the meal and the massive amount of frozen leftovers.