Try this stuffed cabbage recipe for the Passover / Pesach festival. Vegetarian recipes are sometimes a challenge to create, but I have tried to simplify this stuffed cabbage recipe by organizing the instructions into easy-to-follow steps.
The following stuffed cabbage recipe is a vegetarian version of the traditional Ashkenazic-Jewish Holishkes recipe (alternate spellings: Holishikes, Holishkas, Halishkes, or Halishkas; pronounced hoh-LIHSH-kuhs). The word "Holishkes" is a Lithuanian-Yiddish translation (one of many translated versions, for instance, "Holishikes" in Polish-Yiddish) of the Russian word "Goluptzi" or "Golubtsy", which means "little pigeons" or "little doves", because it was thought that the packets of filled, rolled cabbage leaves resembled small birds that were at rest. "Goluptzi" or "Golubtsy goes by other names in other languages (Examples: Prakkes or Praakes - both Yiddishized words that perhaps derived from the Greek word "yaprak" which means "stuffed vine leaves", Praches, or Golubtses, "Holubtsi" - "little doves" in Ukrainian, among many other similar-sounding or related names). Holishkes originated in Eastern Europe. Holishkes are essentially cabbage leaves stuffed with meatballs that are baked and served in a tomato-based sweet-and-sour sauce, but there are many varieties of this basic description of Holishkes, for instance, the cabbage leaves could be stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, onion, eggs and seasonings. The stuffed cabbage recipe for Holishkes will vary depending on the geographical origin of the stuffed cabbage recipe. Holishkes are a traditional food served during the Jewish fall harvest festival of Sukkot (alternate spellings: Sukkoth, Sukkos, Succot, Succoth, or Succos), where they are considered a symbol of plenty, but they can also be served for the Passover / Pesach festival. The following stuffed cabbage recipe also respects the concerns of specific vegetarian sub-groups. For instance, lacto-ovo vegetarians, like all vegetarians, eat no meat but permit eggs to be consumed, and so the following stuffed cabbage recipe complies with their particular vegetarian philosophy.
The practise of making stuffed cabbage began in Persia (Iran), and then spread westward to Syria and Egypt, and northwestward to Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and Romania, among other countries. Since there were so many variations of stuffed cabbage recipes, a plethora of names to describe each stuffed cabbage recipe creation developed over time.
By the way, the term "Ashkenazic" is a descriptive form of "Ashkenazi" or "Ashkenaz" (plural form: "Ashkenazim"). "Ashkenazim" refers to Jews whose ancestors came from Central, Northwestern, and/or Eastern Europe. Now that you're informed of all the terminology on this web page, it's on to the vegetarian stuffed cabbage recipe!
Lemon and tomato slices for garnish (optional)
3 heads Savoy cabbage
For the stuffing:
1 box matzoh, crumbled
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 - 2 cups almonds, chopped
1 - 2 cups matzoh meal
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large eggs, beaten
1 - 2 cups dark raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
For the sauce:
4 cans (11 oz. each or 311.84 grams each) kosher for Pesach tomato mushroom sauce
4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
2 cups dry white wine
Instructions for the Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage recipe:
Makes 35 stuffed cabbage rolls.