Skip to main content
Main

Holoobtsi

A baked dish of cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, meat, and tomato‑sour cream sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Holoobtsi

Oven350°F
Time2 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cabbage

  1. Remove the cabbage core with a sharp knife.

  2. Place the cabbage in a deep pan and pour boiling water into the hollow of the core. Cover completely with boiling water.

  3. Let stand until the cabbage leaves are soft and pliable.

  4. Individually separate the cabbage leaves.

  5. Cut off the hard center stem from the leaves. If the leaves are really large, cut in half or in three.

Make the filling

  1. Wash the rice thoroughly.

  2. Add salt to the 2 cups of boiling water. Add the rice and bring to a boil.

  3. Cover and turn the heat off. Let stand until the rice has absorbed all the water.

  4. Saute the onion in butter or bacon fat. Add the meat if used and cook together for a few minutes.

  5. Combine with rice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  6. Cool this mixture.

Roll and bake

  1. Line the bottom of a large baking dish with a few large cabbage leaves.

  2. Place a spoonful of rice mixture on each half of the leaves and roll up. The rolls should be small.

  3. Arrange the rolls in layers. Sprinkle each layer with salt.

  4. Mix the tomato juice and sour cream. Pour over the cabbage rolls.

  5. Cover with a few large leaves. Cover tightly and bake at 350°F for 2 hours or until the cabbage and the rice kernels are done. The rice kernels should be separate and not mushy.

Serve

  1. Place the hot holoobtsi on a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped crisp bacon.

  2. Serve with any meat course.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

578Calories
31 gProtein
17 gFat
78 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Meatnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Rice + tomatotop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,001 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cabbage
Its leaves wrap the filling and become soft and pliable when soaked in boiling water.
Rice
Absorbs liquid and sets into a firm filling that holds the rolls together.
Cooked meat
Adds savoury richness and body to the rice filling.
Onion
Softened in fat, it adds sweetness and aroma to the filling.
Tomato juice
Provides acidity and moisture that cooks down into the sauce around the rolls.
Sour cream
Adds tang and creaminess to the tomato sauce.

The step that matters

Keep the rice kernels separate. Rice must absorb all its water and then rest covered so the grains stay distinct; over-wet or overcooked rice turns mushy and loses its texture inside the rolls.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, rice, tomato, onion, cream, butter, pepper):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, rice, tomato, onion, cream, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Meatless Tomato SoupMeatless Tomato Soup23 recipesTomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesCream of Tomato SoupCream of Tomato Soup107 recipesRice FrittersRice Fritters84 recipes