Sutocnye shchi (cabbage soup)
Description
The soup is easy and quick to prepare. Shchi has been cooked in Russia for many, many years and, I hope, will always continue to be. This dish is very delicious, and there are countless variations of how to prepare it. I want to tell you about one of them.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
We will prepare the cabbage soup as a fasting dish, using mushroom broth. Soak the mushrooms for about 1.5–2 hours.
- 2
Step 2
Boil the mushrooms in a small amount of water. Do not discard the water in which the mushrooms were soaked; instead, strain it and set it aside.
- 3
Step 3
Peel the onion, finely chop it, and place it on a preheated skillet with vegetable oil. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- 4
Step 4
Peel and wash the carrot. You can grate it on a coarse grater or slice it into thin strips. Add the carrot to the onion in the frying pan and sauté together for another 5 minutes.
- 5
Step 5
The mushrooms are cooked. You can chop them finely, or leave them as slices. Add the mushrooms to the vegetables in the pan and sauté for a few more minutes.
- 6
Step 6
Now add the sauerkraut. Ideally, it should be frozen before cooking and then thawed. You can try both ways—frozen and fresh. Add the sauerkraut to the vegetables with mushrooms and simmer until the sauerkraut is tender. You can add a little water if needed.
- 7
Step 7
Pour the water in which the mushrooms were soaked into the mushroom broth, bring to a boil, and add to the pot with this broth the peeled and cubed potatoes. We will have a little over 1.5 liters of liquid. Cook the potatoes until done.
- 8
Step 8
Add the cabbage stewed with vegetables and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes.
- 9
Step 9
Add salt, black pepper, and finely chopped herbs. Cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Chill for 24 hours.
- 10
Step 10
The next day, you can reheat the shchi in individual pots in the oven, or you can make some tasty flatbreads—let's do it! :) Start preparing about an hour and a half before you plan to have lunch. Mix dry yeast with flour, add salt, hot pepper, garlic pressed through a garlic crusher, vegetable oil, and about 150 ml of warm water. Knead the dough, then place it in a warm spot and let it rise.
- 11
Step 11
The dough has risen.
- 12
Step 12
Divide it into 4 parts (I have 4 pots, which we will use to serve the soup).
- 13
Step 13
We distribute the shchi into ceramic pots.
- 14
Step 14
We shape the dough balls into flatbreads, then use them to cover the pots. The flatbreads can be brushed with butter or egg yolk. Place them in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, until the flatbreads are baked.
- 15
Step 15
Serve the shchi in clay pots, cut off the dough lid, rub it with garlic, and start eating.