Shchi - Russian Vegetarian Cabbage Soup

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Shchi - Russian Vegetarian Cabbage Soup

 

8-10 dried mushrooms, preferably cepes/porcini, but

even shiitakes are okay, hydrated in 1 cup hot water

for an hour

3 Tablespoons butter

4 cups shredded cabbage

2-3 cups sauerkraut (cold pack--not canned, if

possible), rinsed well with cold water and squeezed

dry

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

12 cups vegetable stock

3 Tablespoons butter

1 carrot, peeled and cut into a julienne

1½ cups onions, chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

1 large turnip, peeled and diced

1 16-ounce can tomatoes, drained, seeded, and chopped

salt and pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed

Garnish: chopped fresh dill mixed into sour cream

 

 

 

 

 

Begin by soaking the mushrooms in water. In a large

Dutch oven, melt 3 Tablespoons of butter over medium

high heat, then toss in the cabbage and sauerkraut and

sauté for 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the

tomato paste and 1 cup or so of stock, cover, and

simmer of low heat for 40 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, squeeze the mushrooms dry and slice finely.

Melt the other 3 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet

and sauté the carrot, onions, celery, turnips, and

mushrooms until soft and slightly brown--about 15

minutes. Seed and chop the tomatoes, reserving them.

 

When the sauerkraut and cabbage are nicely stewed,

stir in the sauteéd vegetables, the tomatoes, and the

stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil,

then reduce to a low heat--cover and simmer for about

20 minutes. Add garlic and cook 5 more minutes.

 

Let stand at least 15 minutes--but ideally a day or so

in the refrigerator to cure. When ready to serve,

reheat slowly. Ladle into bowls and garnish with

spoonsful of dilled sour cream.

 

Serves: 6- 8

Source: Soupsong.com

Formatted by Chupa Babi: 12.26.07

 

Shchi can be made with meat or without it--with

sauerkraut or with cabbage or with both. The only

thing all cooks seem to agree on is that it should sit

and cure for as long as possible, up to a day or two,

before eating. This particular recipe is meatless--and

can be vegetarian if you use water or vegetable stock

instead of beef stock--but it is unusually rich and

hearty, full of flavor and textures, using both

sauerkraut and cabbage. Serve hot as a meal to 6-8

people, with lots of pumpernickel or rye bread and

butter on hand.

 

 

Souptale: There is evidence that shchi was known in

Rus long before 988 AD, when Christianity was

accepted--so long before that shchi actually meant

" liquid food " in the beginning, and only came to mean

specifically " cabbage soup " when that vegetable was

cultivated there. As has been described in Faves of

the Stars, shchi has been a favorite soup of

characters as diverse as a 13th century Mongol khan,

Ivan the Terrible, Nicholas II, his assassin Lenin,

Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Alexander Dumas liked it so much in the 19th century

that he included it in his cookbook. Lewis Carroll,

author of Alice in Wonderland, found it " quite

drinkable, though it contained some sour element,

which perhaps is necessary for Russian palates. " When

Russian soldiers marched into France in 1812, they

were so desperate for the taste of fermented cabbage

that they picked vine leaves and started pickling them

so they could make shchi. Its associations, always,

are with peasants, the earth, common soldiers,

ordinariness. Thus when Russians call someone " a

professor of sour shchi, " they mean he's a

fraud--cause you can't earn respect by making

something so common.

To see Turgenev's use of it in a devastating

indictment of 19th century Russian aristocracy, see

the SoupTale Shchi. And here's how the Russian writer

Edouard Limonov had his hero Edichka (from the novel

That's me, Edichka) describe surviving on it in New

York City: " 'The advantages of shchi are as follows,'

Edichka explains. 'There are five of them: 1. It is

very cheap--a saucepan [of it] costs two or three

dollars, and it is enough for two days. 2. It doesn't

get sour without refrigeration--even when it is very

hot. 3. It is cooked quickly--only one and a half

hours. 4. It is possible and even necessary to eat it

cold. 5. There is no better meal for summer, because

it is sour.' "

 

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