Sauerkraut Soup with Sour Cream
This is kapusnyak, Ukrainian sauerkraut soup, in its barest form: no potato, no fried base, no meat. The kraut goes into boiling water with grated carrot and chopped onion and simmers until the cabbage is completely soft. Three hundred grams of kraut (about 10 oz) to a litre of water (roughly 4 cups) yields a clear, sour broth that once carried households through Lenten fasts and today makes a respectable light supper.
The acid is the whole recipe
Add the brine in stages, tasting as you go — jars differ in sourness by nearly a factor of two, and refrigerated US sauerkraut is usually gentler than home-fermented. If the cabbage is fiercely sour, squeeze and rinse it before cooking, then bring the tang back with brine at the end, where you can control the dose. Smetana, the thick cultured sour cream of the region, belongs in the bowl or at least in a pot off the heat; full-fat sour cream or creme fraiche both split into flecks in boiling acidic liquid.
The carrot and onion go in raw, though sweating them in a spoonful of oil first gives a sweeter, denser soup at the cost of clarity. Don’t skip the rest under the lid: ten to fifteen minutes lets the sourness distribute evenly. The traditional partner is pyrizhky, small filled buns stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms, and they are what turn this broth into a meal.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 447 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Cover the sauerkraut with boiling water and add the finely chopped onion and grated carrot.
Bring to a boil and cook until the cabbage is fully tender.
Remove from the heat, cover with a lid, and let the soup rest.
Before ladling it into bowls, season with sour cream, pepper, and herbs.
Serve together with small pies filled with sauerkraut and mushrooms.
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