Polish Cabbage Soup Recipes

KAPUSTA (POLISH CABBAGE SOUP)

Steps:

• Place pork ribs in a large 8 quart heavy pot and cover the ribs with water almost to the top. Bring to a boil uncovered, lower to a fast simmer (low boil) and cook for 45 minutes, skimming off foam as they start to boil. Shut off burner and let them sit in the water for 15 minutes.
• While the pork is cooking, in a medium frying pan, cook the diced salt pork on a medium high flame for 2-3 minutes or until just starting to brown. Add onion to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes until just starting to get tender. Reduce to medium heat, stir in the flour and sauté for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.
• Once cooked, remove ribs from the pot and let cool. Save the liquid in the pot.
• To the pot of liquid, add the sauerkraut and juice, shredded cabbage, stewed tomatoes, caraway seeds and salt as well as the cooked salt pork and onion mixture.
• Cook over medium high heat until cabbage is cooked, approximately 30-35 minutes. While the cabbage mixture is cooking, remove the meat from the bones, shredding the meat into bite-sized pieces. Return the cooked pork to the pot once the cabbage is tender and heat to serving temperature.
• Peel and quarter potatoes and place in cold sated water while cabbage mixture is cooking. Bring to a boil and over a medium boil, cook potatoes for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Drain water and cool potatoes to room temperature. Once the cabbage mixture has finished cooking, cut cooked potatoes into bite sized pieces and either add to the finished cabbage dish or serve on the side. (cooking in quarters and cutting after the fact will make them more firm and less mushy since less of the surface touched the boiling water.
• Serve with rye bread and butter for a traditional Polish meal.

CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Clean and dice the potatoes into small pieces. Shred the cabbage and carrots.
• Rinse the meat under cold water. In a large soup pot, bring 4 quarts of water to boil. Add in the meat and the Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and cook for 30 minutes.
• Add in the potatoes and cabbage and simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
• Dice the onions and shred the carrots. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the onions with a little bit of oil until golden brown. Add in the shredded carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the diced tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove the meat pieces from the soup and remove the bone. Add the meat back into the soup and toss the bones in the trash.
• Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately and enjoy!

CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
• Add the salt pork strips to the pot and fry on each side until the meat begins to brown, a 4-5 minutes. Then flip and repeat for another 4-5 minutes.
• Add the cabbage, sauerkraut, and chicken broth.
• Stir until the ingredients are well-combined.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
• Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. You can fish out the salt pork and chop it up, putting it back into the soup, or if you're not into that, you can discard it.
• Adjust the seasonings to your liking and serve hot.

POLISH SAUERKRAUT SOUP RECIPE (KAPUSNIAK)

Steps:

• In a large pot heat up the oil, add the bay leaf, onion and fry for a couple of minutes over a medium heat stirring occasionally.
• Add the sauerkraut (and meat if using, see *Notes below), stir and continue frying for another minute or so. Add 1/2 the amount of stock, cover and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Add the rest of the ingredients (NOT the salt), including the remaining stock, stir, cover, bring to boil again and continue cooking over a low heat for 50 minutes. DO NOT add salt until the soup is fully cooked as the sauerkraut is salty so taste the soup to decide how much salt it needs.

POLISH CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• Fill a large stock pot with about 8-10 cups of water. Bring to a boil and add spareribs. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. If any foam forms on surface, skim it off then add sauerkraut and cook for another 30 minutes.
• Add onion, celery sticks, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, crushed red pepper flakes, peppercorns and shredded cabbage. Cook for another 30 minutes longer.
• Remove ribs at this point and cut meat from the bone. Shred or cut meat into bite sized pieces and put back into soup. Discard bones.
• * If you are using kielbasi, add it in at about the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
• *Add salt to taste at this point. If you are using the kielbasi it will already add a bit of salt to the soup so taste before you add.
• * If soup taste too sour you may add a pinch of sugar at the end. Sometimes this can vary depending on the type of sauerkraut you purchase.

POLISH KIELBASA AND CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Saute kielbasa in a large soup potover medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove kielbasa and set aside. Add onion and cabbage and saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes, stirring concstantly. Add vegetable stock, potatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

KAPUSTA (POLISH BRAISED CABBAGE)

Steps:

• Sauté the diced bacon in a medium sauté pan with a lid, over medium high heat, 2-3 min.
• Add the diced onions. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and the onions are golden. (At this point, if there is a lot of fat in the pan from the bacon, drain some off, leaving just enough bacon grease to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.)
• Add the garlic and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add the shredded cabbage and water. Cover the pot and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the cabbage has softened.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and pepper. Taste your kapusta, and adjust the seasonings as desired.
• Serve with polish sausage or pierogies.

POLISH CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• Potatoes: Cook with little salt, drain and mash.
• Bacon& Onions: Cut bacon very fine and fry; use the fat from the bacon to cook onions till soft (Cooked bacon can be discarded or saved for use in another dish.)
• Sauerkraut: cook with a little water added, then drain and save the juice.
• Cabbage: cook in water with very little salt, when tender, drain and When tender, drain and put through a blender.
• Dried Peas: Cover with water about 2 inches and cook until tender; DO NOT DRAIN, mash or put through the blender.
• Combine potatoes, onions, and sauerkrout in a large pot and blend with a hand (stick) blender until smooth; then add cabbage, peas and sauerkraut water until tart (add vingar as needed)
• Helpful Hint: the cabbage and peas should remain hole since they give the soup texture; it should not be the texture of baby food.
• Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

KAPUśNIAK: POLISH SAUERKRAUT SOUP

Steps:

• Divide the ribs into smaller pieces, ideally of such a size that they fit easily in the soup plate. Season them with salt and pepper.
• Grab a frying pan and heat up 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Fry them on each side until they start to turn golden. Moved these fried ribs into a pot (ideally sized at 3 qt / 3 litres or bigger). Don't wash the frying pan just yet!
• Chop the leek and dice the onion finely. Fry these veggies on the fat that remained from frying ribs. At the end of frying, add crushed garlic clove and spices: one tablespoon of dried marjoram and half a teaspoon of caraway seeds. When heated, the spices release their essential oils, giving Kapuśniak its unique taste. Put the fried ingredients aside for now.
• Peel the vegetables (2 carrots, a parsley root and a chunk of a celery root). Dice them into squares (roughly with half-inch/1 cm sides). Drop them into the pot with ribs. Add 4 bay leaves and 6 allspice berries. Then, pour 2 quarts (around 2 litres) of water.
• Cook for 30 minutes on low heat, until both ribs and vegetables soften.
• Peel and cube the potatoes, add them to the soup and continue cooking until they soften (that takes around 15 minutes)
• As you wait, drain the sauerkraut (keep the juices!) and chop it roughly. Add them to the soup, together with the onion, leek and spices we have fried before.
• Continue cooking on a low heat for a further 30 minutes, in that time the sauerkraut will soften and release its aromas.
• Have a taste. Season with salt and pepper. If Kapuśniak needs more sour 'kick', add some leftover sauerkraut juice.
• Pour the soup into bowls / soup plates, making sure that everyone gets some veggies and meat. Sprinkle each portion with chopped parsley.

POLISH CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• Prepare Pork broth first, before starting to make soup.
• Brown the sausage slices slowly in a large skillet over medium-low heat, and transfer to paper towels as they are browned.
• Drain and rinse skillet, and heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
• Add onions, and saute for about 5 minutes, then add garlic and all peppers, reduce heat to medium, and saute just until peppers are fairly soft, but not well done.
• Put all ingredients, including pork broth and meat and the sausage pieces, in a large soup pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 1 hour, or until veggies are done.
• Taste, adjust seasonings as needed, simmer another 10 minutes.
• Serve with hot French sourdough or coarse rye black bread and lots of cold butter.
• This soup freezes fairly well, though the veggies do get a little bit soft.
• Pork Broth:.
• Line a 9"x13" pan with heavy aluminum foil, leaving a fairly generous overhang on all sides.
• Season the pork generously on all sides with seasoned salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.
• Place in foil lined pan, cover with a smaller piece of foil, and fold bottom foil overhang over top.
• Place top shelf of oven in upper third of oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Roast for 1 hour, remove top foil, and roll bottom foil overhang back to protect pan.
• Turn oven to broil, and brown meat well on all sides.
• Transfer meat and all juices to a large stock pot.
• Add all remaining ingredient, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for at least 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
• Strain out all solids, reserving meat and discarding vegetables.
• Allow meat to cool enough to handle, and discard bones, gristle, and as much fat as possible.
• Chop meat coarsely, and set aside.
• Degrease broth as much as possible, rinse pot, and strain broth back into pot through a fine sieve.

CLASSIC GOłąBKI: POLISH STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS WITH TOMATO SAUCE (PORK & RICE)

Steps:

• Wash the cabbage under running water. Even though the inside is usually clean (the outer leaves protect the inside), you might want to clean it anyway. Remove the tough outer leaves and discard them. Separate the inner leaves and wash them under running water.
• Cut out the stalk from the head.
• Grab a large cooking pot, large enough for the whole cabbage head to fit. Pour water in and bring it to boil. Add a solid pinch of salt and sugar and stir.
• Blanch the cabbage head in the boiling water, core side down. After a few minutes (2-3), the leaves should peel off easily. If not - cook it for a few more minutes.
• Remove cabbage to a baking tray, but keep the water in the pot.
• (Optional) To keep a more vibrant colour, you can place the leaves into ice water - that will slow down the cooking process.
• Set ten best leaves (largest, unbroken) aside. Using a paring knife, cut the main 'vein' out from each cabbage leaf and trim from the bottom with a knife.
• Peel an onion and dice it finely. Finely chop the garlic with a knife.
• Heat up a tablespoon or two of oil, add in chopped onion. When it turns golden, add chopped garlic and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, cooked rice, a tablespoon marjoram, and cooled down onion/garlic.
• Season with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly - no special tools are necessary, you can use your hands. This mass will be our stuffing.
• Lay the cabbage leaf flat. Place about ¼-⅓ cup of meat mixture in the centre of a cabbage leaf. Gather the edges of the cabbage inwards and roll it tightly. Continue until you have 10 decent-sized rolls.
• Line the bottom of the large cooking pot with some of the remaining pre-cooked leaves - this prevents the dish from burning.
• Place the cabbage rolls in the pot, in layers, one on top of another. Cover with a layer of remaining leaves.
• Pour the stock in. Cook on a medium heat, covered for about 40-50 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Not every cabbage is the same, you'll have to check how soft it is as you go.
• When the cabbage rolls are nearly done, let's make the tomato sauce.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted, add in the flour. Whisk together and cook for a bit until it gains some colour.
• Pour in around a cup (250 ml) of the stock that got made from cooking the cabbage rolls. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat.
• Pour in 2 cups of tomato passata/purée and add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Bring to a boil yet again, then reduce the heat to a minimum.
• Season with salt and ground pepper. If the tomatoes are too acidic, add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavours.
• Continue cooking until you reach a desired thickness.
• Serve cooked cabbage rolls, with tomato sauce on top or on the side.
• Garnish with some freshly chopped dill or parsley leaves.

POLISH CABBAGE AND SAUERKRAUT SOUP (KAPUśNIAK)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, sear pork ribs on both sides over medium-high heat. There should be enough fat on the ribs so additional fat should not be required. If the ribs are very lean, lightly spray the pot with cooking spray before searing. Remove browned ribs to a plate and reserve.
• Add bacon to the pot and fry until most of the fat has rendered out. Add onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and garlic to the pot and cook until onion is translucent. Add fresh cabbage and cook until it collapses. Return spareribs to the pot and add ham bone or hock, sauerkraut, tomato sauce, beef stock, paprika, bay leaf, and sugar. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook about 2 hours or until meat falls from the bones.
• Remove ribs and ham bone or hock from the soup, let cool slightly and remove all bones and cartilage from meat. Chop meat into bite-sized pieces, if necessary, and return to the pot. If you prefer a slightly more sour soup, add some of the reserved sauerkraut juice.
• Cool the soup in an ice-water bath and then refrigerate. The next day, skim off the congealed fat and reheat. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve in warmed bowls with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with chopped parsley , if desired.
• Enjoy!

SLOW COOKER POLISH SAUSAGE AND CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• Gather ingredients.
• Dice the potatoes (peeled or not) into 1/2-inch cubes. Put the potatoes in the slow cooker .
• Dice the sausage into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bacon, if using, and cook until crisp . Drain on paper towels and then add to the slow cooker.
• Wipe the skillet out and place it over medium-high heat. Add the diced sausage and onion . Cook while frequently stirring until the sausage and onions have browned. Drain well and transfer to the slow cooker with the potatoes.
• Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet along with the cabbage and place it back over medium-high heat. Cook while frequently stirring until the cabbage begins to brown. Transfer to the slow cooker.
• Add the chicken stock to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes and caraway seeds if using.
• Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.
• Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed. Serve the soup with crusty bread .