Gluten Free Living – 2016

Cabbage and Noodles, also known as Haluski, is a wonderful, savory, Czech dish passed down from my grandmother. In fact, I can say that this is probably my favorite dish ever. I’ve always loved it. Fried cabbage and onions are cooked in bacon and/or grease (you can also fry in butter) and then added to homemade noodles. (I’ve also used store-bought dumpling noodles when I needed my Cabbage and Noodles fix). A little salt and pepper and that’s all there is to it.

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Grandma used to make this for Grandpa every Thursday for dinner for as long as she was able to stand and make it. It was always his favorite dish. This is the first time I’ve ever actually gone to the trouble of making it with Grandma’s homemade egg noodles, although I made a gluten free noodle from her recipe.

She would either start with bacon or lard and then fry the cabbage and onions in that before adding it to cooked homemade egg noodles. Sometimes Grandma would add a little chicken broth or bacon grease to the water when she boiled the noodles for extra flavor. It’s an old-world recipe I’ve always loved.

The first time I really remember eating it was when I was about 8 or 10 years old. Our family would make the annual trip from the Gulf Coast of Florida to Southeastern Ohio to visit my mom’s family every June as soon as we got out of school. We would stay a month living with assorted aunts and uncles or at Grandma & Grandpa’s.

Once grandma realized I loved her Haluski (ha-LOOSH-kee), she would make extra because she knew I would eat a ton of it. All of my mom’s relatives had farms or property in the area with big gardens so we would get together frequently during our vacation eating all the fresh corn, tomatoes and any kind of garden veggie or berry imaginable.

Everyone was always making pies or cobblers too. But nothing ever beat Grandma’s Haluski. I just had to have it. Grandma usually had to hide some for me or Grandpa and Uncle John would eat it all up!

Even though my husband also comes from Czech roots, he’s not as fond of cabbage as I am. Whenever I made this earlier in our marriage, my kids and I would usually end up eating most of it. I made this back in February and ate ALL of it myself. I had it for lunch for several days.

This recipe makes a lot–probably enough for 10-12 servings, so if you don’t eat leftovers you may need to halve the recipe. We’ve always enjoyed this dish reheated, so I make plenty of it. If you prefer a meatless main dish, simply fry the cabbage and onions in butter or coconut oil. It works excellently that way too. I used a bacon without nitrates, preservatives or sugar that’s whole30 approved that I found at Sprouts. It’s not cheap but I feel a lot better eating this minimally processed bacon than regular bacon.

If you’re hungering for an old-fashioned Cabbage and Noodles recipe, give my grandma’s recipe a try. It’s amazing.

This lovely recipe is featured at Favorite Southern Recipes here.

Cabbage and Noodles (Haluski=ha-LOOSH-kee) is my favorite comfort food.

Every bite is so savory and mouthwatering.

I made this a clean-eating recipe with gluten free noodles and bacon without preservatives or sugar.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients to make the homemade noodles, plus water. You can also use regular flour if you don’t have gluten intolerance.

Mix flour and salt. Add eggs. Stir as well as you can.

Add water.

Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Sprinkle counter top with gluten free flour. Add dough. Sprinkle more flour on top of dough. Work flour into dough with your fingers until it’s the consistency to knead. 

Knead until smooth and dough is no longer as sticky. Allow dough to rest ten minutes before rolling out with a rolling pin.

Roll out dough with a rolling pin.

Roll dough out thin, sprinkling a little more flour on top if necessary so rolling pin doesn’t stick to the dough.

Cut noodle dough with a pastry cutter in strips.

Allow dough to rest and dry at least one hour. (I let mine rest 4 hours before boiling).

These are the remaining ingredients for the stir-fry part. I normally use regular yellow onions, but this was the only onion I could find so I used it up.

Cut bacon in one-inch pieces. Fry bacon until done. Do NOT drain. (You may have to use 2 separate skillets).

Add cabbage and onions. You may have to do this in two batches.

Cover with lid and fry cabbage until tender. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring water or chicken broth to a boil in a large stock pot. Add dried homemade noodles to boiling water.

Boil gluten free noodles about 3-5 minutes or until done. (Wheat noodles will take about 15-20 minutes).

Combine homemade noodles with cabbage mixture and serve. 

Season Cabbage and Noodles with additional salt, pepper and fresh parsley, if desired.

If you enjoy cabbage you’ll love this recipe.

This close up allows you to see the texture of the dish.

Here’s the recipe.

CABBAGE AND NOODLES (HALUSKI)

(Recipe adapted from my Grandmother, Anna Slivka, McConnelsville, OH)

Cabbage and Noodles is very basic (especially if you use store bought noodles), but it’s really hearty and satisfying.

My boys loved eating this dish when they were growing up.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Creamed Cabbage Soup

Cabbage Roll Soup

Cabbage Stir Fry