Polish Kapusta Food

POLISH KAPUSTA KIELBASA

Steps:

• In a stockpot, add sauerkraut and bring to boil; rinse and drain.
• Return sauerkraut to stockpot and add enough water to cover sauerkraut.
• In a small skillet, saute onion in butter until soft. Add butter beans and cook at least 30 minutes.
• Add kielbasa and cook 45 minutes to 1 hour, the longer the better.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.

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 II

Steps:

• Place the salt pork in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the fat has melted down and the meaty parts are cooked. Add shredded cabbage, and cook over medium-low heat until tender, stirring to coat the cabbage with the salt pork drippings.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. When the cabbage has cooked completely, stir egg noodles into the cabbage, and season with black pepper to taste.

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.

POLISH SAUERKRAUT SOUP (KAPUSNIAK)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place ham hocks or ham bone and water in a Dutch oven or other large pot. Bring to a boil, skimming off foam. Add onion, bay leaf, peppercorns , and parsley. Return to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 45 minutes, or until meat falls off the bones.
• Remove meat from broth, dice and return to the pot with barley, sauerkraut, and caraway seeds, if using. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer , uncovered, for an additional 45 minutes.
• If soup becomes too thick, add meat stock or water. If a more sour taste is desired, add some reserved kraut juice.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove ​the ​ bay leaf .
• Serve in heated bowls with hearty rye bread .

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.

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 SAUSAGE AND SAUERKRAUT CASSEROLE (KAPUSTA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bring sausage to boil and simmer 15 minutes; drain and set aside.
• Cut bacon into small pieces.
• Begin browning, then add diced onion.
• Saute together until bacon is almost crisp.
• Drain mixture, reserving bacon grease.
• Drain sauerkraut (do not rinse).
• Add sauerkraut and brown sugar to bacon mixture.
• Mix in about 2 Tablespoons reserved bacon grease and water.
• Place in large casserole dish.
• Cut Polish sausage into 3" pieces and place on top of sauerkraut.
• Cover and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour 15 minutes, checking sauerkraut mixture halfway through to add more water if sauerkraut appears very dry.
• Finish baking; remove from oven.
• Taste sauerkraut and, if desired, adjust flavor by adding salt and pepper, or a little more brown sugar, vinegar or bacon grease to your taste. (Note: In the old days, Busia (Grandma) would soak a cup of yellow peas overnight to soften them and would mix them into the sauerkraut. It was probably to stretch the quantity, but I don't do it anymore!).

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!

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 (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.

KAPUSTA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil and melt the margarine in a large skillet.
• Cook the chopped onion until translucent. You can brown it if you like.
• Add the drained and rinsed sauerkraut and fry over medium high heat until slightly browned.
• Sprinkle liberally with paprika and not-so-liberally with garlic salt - I don't measure either so the quantities listed are approximate.
• Add the pork and beans to the pan and heat through.
• Then eat! I usually serve this with ham steaks or kielbasa.

KAPUSTA

Steps:

• Add the bacon to a large frying pan over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered.
• Add the onions an cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened and light golden brown. If the pan is too dry, you can add a teaspoon or two of olive oil.
• Stir in the sauerkraut, brown sugar, and water. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, until heated through and light golden brown.