Best Kapusta Food

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.

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.

KIELBASA KAPUSTA - SLOW COOKER RECIPE!

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter and bacon drippings until foaming subsides, about 2-3 minutes. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and edges begin to brown, about 8-10 minutes.
• While onions cook rinse and drain sauerkraut at least twice. Make sure sauerkraut is well drained and add it to slow cooker along with onions, salt, pepper, brown sugar, water, and kielbasa. Give everything a good stir and cover. Cook on high for 1 hour, then reduce to low and cook for an additional 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve.

KAPUSTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat; saute onions and mushrooms until tender.
• In a medium saucepan over high heat, boil cabbage for 10 minutes.
• In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish combine onions, mushrooms, cabbage, sauerkraut, sugar, thyme, salt and pepper; mix well. Dot remaining 2 tablespoons butter on top. Cover.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

KAPUSTA

Steps:

• Brown pork and onion in hot skillet until pork is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Combine cooked pork and onion with all other ingredients in a 5 quart Dutch oven or slow cooker. Mix lightly.
• Simmer all day.
• The longer you cook this, the better it tastes.

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.

UKRAINIAN KOBASA KAPUSTA

Steps:

• Remove the skin from the kobasa, and cut into bite sized pieces. Place in a bowl.
• Dice onion and place in a bowl.
• Crush fennel seed using a mortar and pestle.
• Drain and throughly rinse the sauerkraut using a colander. I like to use some boiling water for this.
• Heat a frying pan over medium heat, and add the oil.
• Add the onions and seasonings, and cook until browned (about 5 minutes).
• Add the cut up kobasa and cook until nicely browned (about 6-8 minutes).
• Add the drained and rinsed sauerkraut and cook until heated through (about 8-10 minutes).
• Remove from heat and place in a serving bowl. This is a great main course, or side dish.
• ENJOY!

POLISH KAPUSTA

Steps:

• Cook onion and kielbasa in frying pan until onions are translucent.
• Drain liquid from sauerkraut.
• Mix all ingredients together.
• Transfer to a buttered casserole dish.
• Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

ALMOST MY GRANDPOP'S KAPUSTA

Steps:

• 1. Heat a large skillet hot enough for the bacon pieces. Spread them across the bottom (you don't need to separate each piece as they will separate as you stir). Stir them around to get the pieces cooked to medium texture. You don't want them crisp for this recipe. Take out the pieces & place them in a small bowl.
• 2. Place the pork in the hot bacon grease and brown both sides including the edges. Remove from pan & put aside. Empty the bacon grease but do not wipe/wash. Leave the pan greased.
• 3. Rinse the sauerkraut once and spread in heated pan with about 1/3 of the can juice. (I drain the cans and add water & drain again keeping approx.1/3 of the juice left in each can.)
• 4. Add sliced onions to the pan and stir while frying to semi-cook the veggies and absorb remaining bacon grease (about 5 min.).
• 5. Add the remaining ingredients including garlic powder & smoky paprika along with the chicken broth (I used College Inn but any good broth will do). Mix as well as you could as not to splash outside the pan. Turn down the heat to med/low and cover. Cook for 35-40 minutes.

GRANDMA'S POLISH KAPUSTA WITH PORK SPARE RIBS

Steps:

• Step 1 1. Cut spare ribs into individual portions.
• Step 2 2. Place pork in a large pot, top with water, and bring to a boil.
• Step 3 3. Lower the heat to medium, and skim until there is nothing left to skim.
• Step 4 4. Add two bay leaves and simmer on low for about 2 hours until fork tender.
• Step 5 5. Cut cabbage into 1/4 inch slices.
• Step 6 6. Add cabbage and sauerkraut to pot (note I had to remove half of the pork, add half of the cabbage and sauerkraut, add the pork back in, and top off with the remaining cabbage and sauerkraut in order to fit it in my pot).
• Step 7 7. Simmer for 35-45 minutes more (think low and slow). Don't forget to fish out the bay leaves which was my dad's job when he was a kid. Serve the kapusta with some boiled potatoes for a hearty meal.

BEST KAPUSTA

Steps:

• 1. Cook bacon and set aside on paper towels. Heat butter, and tablespoon of reserved bacon grease in large saute pan. Brown chopped onion. Add kraut, bacon and spices and cook on medium heat for 15min.
• 2. Add beans and simmer for another 5-10min. Serve as side with keilbasa.

HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT RECIPE (KVASHENAYA KAPUSTA)

Steps:

• Remove the outermost leaves of the cabbage, cut it into quarters and shred cabbage finely (use a mandolin to do this faster and discard the core.
• In a large silver bowl, place cabbage, carrots, 2 Tbsp sea salt and 1 Tbsp sugar and scrunch and knead it together really well for the juice to be released from the cabbage (4-5 min). You don't want it to be super juicy, just enough to cover the lettuce when you really pack it down in a jar.
• Scrunch it until juices start to come out.
• Fill a glass jar with the cabbage mixture and pack it in very tightly so that the juice from the cabbage covers the cabbage completely. You want a jar big enough to be filled only about 2/3 full so it has room to expand.
• Make a press over the top of the cabbage by pushing down with a plate (or the lid from a large sour cream container). Top with a small jar of water, a super clean rock or whatever else would make a good weight. Place the lid on the jar but do not tighten. Its a good idea to keep the bottle in the sink or over a dish since there is risk of it overflowing (this is also why we only fill it 2/3 full; it grows!). Let stand at room temp for 4 days or until sour. It will stop fermenting/rising when it's done.
• While it sits at room temperature, once each day: poke a few holes through the cabbage with the back of a wooden mixing spoon to release the gas that this process produces and pack the cabbage down tightly.
• After 4 days, refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be stored for a few weeks if kept very cold.