My Dad was a picky eater. While he had an adventurous palate in some ways, he preferred that my Mom only made the same familiar dishes that he enjoyed with insanity inducing regularity. Haluski—the quick, easy and affordable pot of egg noodles and fried cabbage—was one of these dishes.
It could have been worse, mind you…In its original form, Haluski is a decent dish that is easy to improvise with and can feed an army on the cheap. With the right ingredients you could truly engineer a meal worthy of high end restaurant fare, but a splashy home cooked edition more than suits my needs.
My Dad passed away in 2013 and my Mom felt a sense of relief as she realized that she no longer would be held responsible for any more pots of Haluski, amongst other dishes. I remember the look of disgust on her face as I asked for her recipe. Without it, she would indeed be off the hook. I can sense the puzzlement in her voice when I talk to her on the phone about how I’ve tweaked the family recipe.
“Brussels Sprouts?”, she’ll quip. “Meyer Lemons?”, she’ll moan in protest. I know she’s insanely curious about my homemade, plant-based “sausages”, but I also know how much work it would take to get her to try any.
In the end I know that she’s happy that I’m carrying forward our family’s food traditions, but she’s also happier that she isn’t the one who has to make any of it. Now all I have to do is to get her to try some of mine sometime, but I won’t be holding my breath until then.
Haluski
Egg Noodles with Brussels Sprouts, Meyer Lemon & Dill
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES ● COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES ● SERVES 4
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Ingredients
1 pound wide Egg Noodles
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large plant-based “Sausage”, sliced (optional)
2 onions, halved and sliced into thin half rings
1 pound Brussels Sprouts, stems removed, halved and thinly sliced
4 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons Meyer Lemon juice
2 tablespoons tomato purée
1 bunch fresh Dill, finely minced
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional)
garnishes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Smoked Maldon Finishing Salt
Finely minced fresh Dill
Zest from 1 Meyer Lemon
drink pairings
Wine: Sauvignon Blanc
Wine: Dry Riesling
Wine: Gewürztraminer
Spirit: Vodka, neat
Cocktail: Gin/Vodka Martini
instructions
- Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the egg noodles and return to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still slightly firm, about 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
- Place a large, deep skillet on a burner over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil when the pan is hot.
- If using the optional plant-based “sausage”, fry the slices until golden. Remove from the pan, crumble and then set aside.
- Place the onion slices into the pan and cook until slightly caramelized (approximately 10 minutes). Add an extra splash of Olive Oil if needed.
- Add the sliced Brussels Sprouts. Stirring often, cook until just wilted.
- Deglaze the pan with the water and Meyer Lemon juice, and then add the tomato purée. Stir well to ensure that the purée has been evenly distributed.
- If using, return the crumbled, plant-based “sausage” to the pan and add the dill.
- Dump the cooked egg noodles into the pan along with the liquid smoke (if using). Give it a good stir to ensure that everything is mixed well.
- Divide amongst 4 serving plates and garnish each liberally with smoked Maldon Finishing Salt, fresh minced dill, Meyer Lemon zest and a generous glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Its exciting to see so many options available for plant-based “sausages” hitting markets these days, but it’s important to note that not all of them are created equally—nor can one be swapped out for another. “Italian” spiced varieties, “Chorizo” and/or smoked apple and sage flavors just won’t have the right flavor profiles for this dish. Field Roast’s “Frankfurters” or “Bratwurst” have a taste eerily similar to the kinds of real sausages my Mom would make and use at home…They make this version of Haluski incredibly nostalgic to me. The Beyond Sausage Original Brat is another popular option that I can personally vouch for that’s good to use in this recipe.
