Eat Like an Author: Judith Krummeck

When most people get bored, they eat. When I get bored, I brainstorm new series and features for the blog, and THEN eat. A couple years ago, as I was brainstorming and contemplating what I wanted to eat, I thought how cool it would be to have a mini-foodie series where authors share the things they like to eat. Photos and recipes and all. And so I asked them, and amazingly they responded, and I dubbed it EAT LIKE AN AUTHOR. 

Today, Judith Krummeck shared with us a Ukrainian dish to help us celebrate her new novel The Deceived Ones. 

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HOW HOLUBTSI TIES IN TO THE DECEIVED ONES

 

When Vira becomes a refugee from the war in Ukraine, she is sponsored in the U.S. through the Uniting for Ukraine program by Peta Masters who is vegan. By way of a thank you, Vira prepares for Peta a Ukrainian meal that includes vegan Holubsti, which are a type of Ukrainian cabbage roll. 

VEGAN HOLUBTSI (UKRAINIAN STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS)

 

Credit for photos go to Yvette Freter.
Credit also to the sous chef Lizzy 

Author: Anastasia

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Yield: 12 rolls

Category: Main course

Cuisine: Ukrainian

Instructions

 

1. Cook bulgur wheat in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
2. To peel the cabbage first cut out the stem. Put the head into a large pot with boiling water and blanch for about 3 minutes. Turn the head and cook for another 3 minutes. If your cabbage is young it might take less time to soften.
3. Take out the cabbage and let it cool. Gently peel the leaves and set aside. (Use leftover cabbage in another recipe. You can throw it in soups.)
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft and translucent. Then add garlic and stir for a minute. Throw in grated carrot and sauté for 3 minutes or so.
5. Now add spices, cooked bulgur, brown sugar, and vegetable bouillon. Stir until all liquid is absorbed and remove from the heat.
6. Next heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Again sauté onion until soft and then add garlic and carrot. Cook for few more minutes. Add dried oregano, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, salt, black pepper and water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 355°F.
8. Place 2 cabbage leaves on a bottom of Dutch oven. Scoop some of the filling onto a cabbage leaf and fold it into a roll. Place in the Dutch oven and repeat.
9. When sauce is ready purée it with immersion blender. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
10. Save about 1 cup of sauce for later and pour the rest on top of your cabbage rolls. Cover and put in the oven for 1-2 hours, the longer the better.
11. Serve vegan stuffed cabbage rolls with extra sauce on top.

 

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Judith Krummeck is a writer, broadcaster, and immigrant. She is the evening drive time host for Baltimore’s classical music station, WBJC, 91.5FM, and her debut novel, The Deceived Ones, a contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, is being published this spring. Her biographical memoir, Old New Worlds, intertwining her immigrant story with her great-great grandmother’s, came out in 2019. In 2014, she published the chapbook, Beyond the Baobab, a memoir in essays about her immigration from Africa to America. www.judithkrummeck.com

 

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Displaced by the Russian invasion, Vira, carrying little but her precious viola da gamba, is a refugee in the Uniting for Ukraine program. When she is physically attacked soon after her arrival in the United States, the terrifying experience prompts her to hide in plain sight by passing as her twin, Sevastyan, until he is able join her.

 

Orson has been commissioned to write an opera for The Twelfth Night Festival, but he is suffering from composer’s block. Not only that, his muse, Isabella, has inexplicably withdrawn from all performing. During a chance meeting, Orson discovers the extraordinary musical talent of Vira, now passing as Sevastyan, and it gives him the jolt of inspiration he needs. Hoping that Isabella will be as intrigued as he is, Orson sends “Sevastyan” as his emissary to persuade Isabella to sing in his opera.

 

In this love-quadrangle seen from multiple points of view—some poignant, some hilarious—the myriad misconceptions that result from Vira’s deception are woven into themes of migration, sexuality, and diversity.

 Purchase your copy here.