Fried Cabbage Haluski with Crispy Pancetta

I was introduced to haluski by a restaurant in the charming little seaside village of La Conner, Washington. The restaurant, Anelias, is a true gem, and worth a stop for anyone passing through the area. It is especially a lovely place to enjoy a meal during tulip season, the whole month of April, which La Conner is world renowned for. They serve up hearty Polish fare, with Pacific Northwest ingredients, and it’s the first place I learned about the ultimate comfort food, haluski.

If you’re new to haluski, allow me the honor of getting to tell you about it. Think fried cabbage, butter, and noodles. And, if you want to stick to the basics, really, that’s all you need. It isn’t fancy, but it is soul warming comfort food and is sure to become a staple in your home. Traditionally, instead of noodles, a potato dumpling, similar to spatzel is used. In this version, I used store bought spatzel to make it a little more authentic, while also keeping it easy for a weeknight dinner. But, if spatzel is too difficult to find, I have made it with egg noodles, and it’s just as velvety, buttery, and delicious.

Haluski is a great recipe for these cold winter months when it’s icky outside and you want a hygge evening with a bowl of warm comfort food. I also love that it helps use up your root cellar vegetables in the process. When you properly harvest, dry, and store your root cellar vegetables they will remain good for months. Cabbage up to 6 months, onion and garlic 8 months or more. Since most of us no longer have root cellars in our homes, a cool, dry, dark pantry works perfectly. This is actually better than using the refrigerator, because while the fridge is cold, it’s also humid, which causes your onions and garlic to go bad much faster.

When making haluski, I like to cook the cabbage and onion strips to the point where they start to get a little caramelization on them. And, while it is completely unnecessary to add pancetta and goat cheese, the combination of these ingredients is simply divine.

You can use whatever type of cabbage you would like. I grew some mystery cabbage in my garden last summer. While it may not have started out a mystery, I find if I don’t properly label my garden it becomes a mystery very quickly. So, remember to label! As far as onions go, I prefer a sweet onion, which aids in the caramelization process.

Growing Zones

Cabbage: 6-11
Sweet Onion: 3-9
Garlic: 3-9
Learn more about your growing zone here.

Hand-Drawn Printable Recipe

Fried Cabbage Haluski

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• Author: Jane Clifford | The Kailyaird
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 20
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x

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Description

Haluski is the ultimate comfort food. Buttery noodles and delicious fried cabbage.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 small cabbage

1/2 sweet onion

3/4 cup high quality butter

1/2 cup cubed pancetta

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 package spatzel or egg noodles

1/4 cup goat cheese

squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 – 1 tbs)

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Instructions

Heat pan to medium heat

Chop the cabbage and onion in strips

Add cabbage, onion, and half the butter to the pan

Cook over medium heat until cabbage and onions are soft and starting to camelize

Add pancetta and get crispy

Add garlic when pancetta is halfway to crispy

Remove from heat

While cabbage mixture is cooking, cook the spatzel according to the package directions, drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, add hot spatzel, cabbage mixture, and rest of butter, mixing to coat evenly.

Give entire bowl a squeeze of fresh lemon

Dish out, and sprinkle with goat cheese

Notes

If your store doesn’t carry spatzel, substitute egg noodles.

• Category: Entree