Tuesday 2/10: Kohlsuppe (Cabbage Soup with Polish Sausage)

Okay, so I really modified the recipe on this one. But I hope it will be good anyway. ;)

I took this recipe as my jumping-off point.

I started by sauteeing a large onion with one pound of kielbasa, sliced rather thin, until the onions were just turning golden.

Then I peppered it pretty heavily (so the pepper would get through everything.)

I stirred in as I chopped 2 small heads green cabbage (I sliced in half, removed the cores, and THEN rinsed before cutting, in case dirt was trapped between the leaves.) I chopped them in about 1 to 1 1/2 inch squares/rectangles, just a rough chop. I wilted down the leaves so they would all fit; adding them a bit at a time gave room for them to shrink. I kept stirring until they were wilted down to about half their original volume.

Then I dumped in one 2 lb. package frozen hashbrowns (the kind that are just diced potatoes and something to keep them from browning.) Mixed them all up. Transferred to the crockpot.

Then I poured chicken broth over; I ended up using 7 cups (4 14 ounce cans.)

I did not salt because I prefer, when using such salty foods, to let people salt to taste.

I would have thrown in some caraway seed but apparently mine is lost... No clue where it is, I thought I had some but couldn't find it. :( If you do this, caraway seed would be good.

It will cook about 4 hours on High or 8 on Low, I think. Cabbage is one of the few veggies that takes well to long cooking; the longer you cook it the more tender and almost creamy it gets in texture. In a soup like this all the nutrients that leach out when you overcook veggies go right into the broth, so it doesn't really matter, they'll still be eaten. :) Definitely will need stirring before serving.

It will be served with Ukranian rye bread (dense and slightly dry, perfect with soup) and sour cream to dollop on top.