Cabbage Soup with Barley

Warm and hearty soups warm us up and fill us up on cold and gray winter days, which is why there are never enough recipes for them. Russians are masters of cooking warm and hearty spoon dishes. They call cabbage soup shchi - in this version, they add mushrooms and barley.

Details

  • Preparation Time: 15 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 135 minutes
  • Difficulty: 2
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 200 g Barley

  • 500 g Sauerkraut

  • 3 pieces Potatoes, white

  • 250 g Meat, pork, smoked bacon

  • 150 g Beans, grains, cooked

  • 200 g Mushrooms, oyster

  • 5 spoon Oil, vegetable oil, canola

  • 1 piece Onion, raw

  • 2 pod Garlic, fresh

  • 1 piece Spices, bay (leaves)

  • 0.75 teaspoons Salt, table

Steps

  1. Drain the soaked barley and place it in a pot. Add enough water to cover the barley by four fingers, salt, and place the pot on the stove. Wait for the water to boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and cook the barley for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Check several times during cooking to see if the barley is done. Drain the cooked barley.

  2. Peel the onion, wash it, and chop it finely. Clean the mushrooms, rinse them quickly (wipe them with a damp cloth), and slice them. Peel the potatoes, wash them, and cut them into cubes. Place the cabbage in a colander, pour water over it, and place it on the stove. Wait for the water to boil, then remove the colander and drain the cabbage.

  3. Place a pot with 1 liter of water on the stove and wait for the water to boil. Cut the bacon into small cubes or squares. Place a large pot with oil on the stove, wait for the oil to heat up, then quickly fry the bacon in it. Add the onion, stir, and fry just until the onion becomes translucent. Add the mushrooms, stir, and fry for another 5 minutes.

  4. Peel and chop the garlic. Pour 1 liter of boiling water into the pot with the onion, bacon, and mushrooms, add the barley, cabbage, potatoes, garlic, and bay leaf. Season to taste and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Taste the dish and stir in the cooked white beans. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes to heat the beans.

  5. Divide the soup into deep bowls and serve with slices of homemade bread. If desired, you can add 1 tablespoon of sour cream to each bowl.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 138.47 kcal
  • Fat: 6 g
    • Saturated Fat: 1.84 g
  • Carbohydrates: 16.47 g
    • Sugars: 0.68 g
  • Protein: 3.68 g
  • Fiber: 3.42 g

Advice

Instead of barley, you can use pearl barley (polished or pearl barley), which does not need to be soaked before cooking and cooks much faster (50 minutes).