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Cabbage Soup with Beef
Instructions
Get the ingredients ready. You'll need 2.5 litres of water. It's best to take beef on the bone (shoulder, ribs) – the broth will then be richer. Instead of tomato paste you can use a fresh tomato. The dried blend can be replaced with fresh herbs (dill, parsley, celery).
Rinse the beef well, removing any small bone fragments that may have stuck to the flesh. Put the meat in a pot, add the water and set it on the stove.
Before the foam starts to form, use this time to peel the potatoes. Then drop them into cold water to keep them fresh.
As the clumps of foam first rise to the surface, lower the heat and skim off the foam as it forms.
Add only part of the salt right away, not all of it, and leave the broth to cook for 1.5 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Grate half the carrot into long matchsticks so it doesn't differ in shape from the shredded cabbage (you can use a Korean-carrot grater).
Cut half the onion into thin strips.
Into the broth I add the remaining onion and carrot, along with the bay leaf and allspice peppercorns.
Cut the sweet pepper into long strips.
In a small skillet, melt the butter together with the vegetable oil.
Add the onion to the pan and sauté it until translucent.
Add the carrot to it and let it cook for one minute.
Add the tomato paste and heat everything through for a couple more minutes.
After an hour and a half, lower the whole potatoes into the broth. Let them cook until done (this takes about 20 minutes).
In the meantime, finely shred the cabbage.
Transfer the potatoes and the softened onion into the skillet with the sauté and mash them with a fork.
The carrot, bay leaf and peppercorns have already given up their aroma and flavour – they can be taken out of the pot and discarded.
Take the meat out of the broth and let it cool a little.
Remove the bones and cut the flesh into pieces.
Return them to the gently boiling broth.
Add the dried herbs.
And also the sauté with the mashed potato.
As soon as the broth comes to a boil, add the cabbage.
At first it will seem that there is too much cabbage, but it will later soften and its volume will shrink.
Add the sweet pepper here too.
The soup should boil for 3–4 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and leave it like that for about 10 minutes. The soup is ready.The fragrant, rich cabbage soup with beef simply beckons you to the dinner table. I serve it hot, dividing the pieces of meat between the bowls and, if desired, adding a dollop of sour cream.
Tips
- 1
Beef on the bone is the "secret" to a rich soup. Pure flesh gives a lean broth. A bone with the marrow part gives a rich, gelatinous broth, just like in Soviet-era shchi.
- 2
Mashed potato in the sauté is the "secret" to body. Potato in the soup softens into cubes. Mashed with the sauté, it gives body and a creamy taste without weighing the soup down.
- 3
Cabbage in at the end for 3–4 minutes is the "secret" to crunch. Long cooking makes it fall apart into strands. A minimum of boiling leaves it with a pleasant crunch.
- 4
Ten minutes under the lid is the "secret" to flavour. After the heat is turned off, the soup "rests" and the aromas mingle. Served straight away, the flavour hasn't yet opened up. The same principle works in other kinds of Russian meat soups.
FAQ
Which beef should I choose? +
Ideally – beef on the bone (600 g – shoulder, ribs, brisket). Alternatives: boneless beef (500 g plus a bone separately for the broth), veal on the bone (600 g – more tender), oxtail (600 g – premium for a gelatinous broth), a 50/50 mix of beef and pork (300 g of each – economical), beef shank (600 g – premium), turkey drumstick (600 g – a leaner option). Do not use stringy beef without any fat (the broth will be lean) or frozen meat that hasn't been thawed. For classic shchi, beef on the bone is a must.
Which cabbage should I choose? +
Ideally – fresh young or mid-season white cabbage (350–400 g – tender and juicy). Alternatives: early summer cabbage (400 g – more tender), dense winter cabbage (350 g – needs longer cooking, up to 5 minutes), savoy cabbage (400 g – premium, very tender), Chinese cabbage (400 g – a summer option), a mix of white and pickled cabbage (200 g of each – an interesting flavour), cauliflower (400 g – a premium option). Do not use cabbage that has been slightly frozen, overgrown cabbage with tough leaves, or the stalk. For classic shchi, fresh white cabbage is a must.
How long does the soup keep? +
In the fridge in a covered pot – 3–4 days. Any longer and the cabbage loses its crunch and the broth turns cloudy. Before serving, reheat it over low heat until it comes to a boil. In the freezer, in portions – up to 1 month; thaw in the fridge for 8–10 hours. Fresh shchi is at its best a day after cooking (once it has "rested" in the pot). On the second day the flavour is deeper and brighter. Don't leave it at room temperature for longer than 4 hours – meat soup spoils quickly. It's ideal to cook a batch for 2–3 servings.
What to serve with shchi? +
The Russian classic: with cold 25% sour cream. With a slice of black rye bread and garlic. With a cup of kvass or fruit drink. With a shot of cold vodka. With salted cucumbers or sauerkraut. With garlic croutons. With fresh herbs (dill, parsley). With a boiled egg to make it more filling. With cabbage or meat pies on the side. With a fresh vegetable salad. With a glass of freshly squeezed tomato juice. With rye croutons. For a "Russian lunch" it's a versatile dish to serve. The main Russian soup for the family table.
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