This restorative beef and cabbage soup will give you the energy you need in the dead of winter!
I am sure we are not the only family longing for something healthier right after all the Christmas and New Year’s Eve festivities. We are also probably not alone in our desire for comfort food, which is often synonymous with “heavy, creamy and cheesy”. Often but not always.
This beef and cabbage soup combines the healthy and comforting in one delicious and a very pretty bowl!
I learned making soups from my mum and my grandma. I always thought soup was the easiest and simplest thing to make in the kitchen as it is an absolutele staple in Russia.
Every lunch starts with a soup of some kind as a first course. Russian soups are so hearty that many don’t ever move to the second course!
The tradition states that a spoon should be able to stand in your soup pot to determine how successful it is! Joking aside, a proper Russian soup is meant to be thick and nourishing.
The recipe for this beef and cabbage soup I am sharing today is exactly how my mum made it. I have to admit that I hadn’t made it in a while but as soon as I could smell it bubbling away on the stove, I was right there, in my mom’s kitchen.
It’s amazing how food can transport us in time!
As I mentioned I’d always thought soup making was easy and everyone knew how to do it until I started hearing various comments from friends and readers that they struggled with soups, and found it difficult not to end up with something watery and bland. Hmmm…I think I can help!!
In my humble opinion the success of any soup rests in the stock or broth, whatever you want to call it.
Like I said, this recipe for beef and cabbage soup also known as ‘Shchi’ in Russia is my mother’s recipe, and she always started all her soups by making a rich meat broth in a pressure cooker, so I did exactly that.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can easily do it on a stove top but it will take triple the time. Pressure cooker is great when you are short on time!
Another flavour trick that I always use is sauteing carrots and onions in a little bit of butter and adding them to the soup at the very end. Italians call it “soffritto“, the French call it “mirepoix” and my mum and many other Russian mums call it “zapravka“, which in Russian means something along the lines of a “dressing”.
Feel free to add celery as well but it is not very Russian and I am not a huge fan, so I don’t. If you add your onions and carrots raw to the broth, they will only taste so good but sauteing them in butter adds a whole lot of flavour.
And lastly adding fresh herbs like flat leaf parsley and dill once a soup is cooked take it to another level of delicious, the level where even children eat soup!! So there you have it.
Three main tips to make better soups:
- Flavourful broth
- Soffritto, mirepoix or zaprvaka
- Fresh herbs
For more soup recipes check out my Soup Archives!
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1 onion cut in half
- 1 carrot cut in 3-4 pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-4 whole peppercorns
- a pinch of salt
- 2 litres/8 cups water
- 1 lb stewing beef
For the beef and cabbage soup
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
- ⅓ small savoy or white cabbage sliced/ approximately 2 cups
- 2 carrots shredded
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp of each chopped parsley and dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- sour cream for serving
Instructions
- If using a pressure cooker, combine all the ingredients for the broth and cook for 30 minutes in manual mode. Increase the time to 1 ½ hours if using a stove top method.
- At the end of the cooking time remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the broth through a fine sieve for a clear broth. Discard the vegetables and spices.
- In a soup pot combine the broth, beef and potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile saute the shredded carrots and onions with butter over low heat until tender and the onions translucent, approximately for 10 minutes.
- After the soup boils, add the cabbage and the sauteed carrots and onions, cook for 5 minutes longer and turn it off. (It's very important not to overcook the vegetables!)
- Add chopped fresh parsley and dill and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.
K Flint says
Ok. I love soup. I love Russian soup. And I saw that this recipe had all of the basic stuff you need in a good pot of Shchi. Followed the recipe, including making the beef stock. And I served it to my family, who are not huge fans of Russian food. My son, who was most on the fence, took a single bite, and said “make this again.” My daughter, who does appreciate soup, also loved it. As did my wife, who is the least soup-friendly. Excellent, simple recipe. Pre cooking the carrots and onions made them perfect. And only cooking the cabbage 5 minutes kept the house smelling great;) Thanks!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
What an amazing review! Thank you so much for letting me know this simple soup was a success in your house!
Joseph says
hi there chef ,this recipe Ive never seen but winter is coming and its raining today in TEXAS, mom was Italian dad Lithuanian polish so her repatoir was extensive she always made her cabbage soup red and we loved it especially with a splash ov vinegar I will make this soon just don’t have the beef and she used beef shake for the base ,, which I will also use mouth is watering
Joseph says
Dats beef shank not shake kids can’t take us anywhere
vikalinka says
I believe you might be referring to borscht-red soup with cabbage? If that is the case here is the recipe for it as well.
Joseph says
red meaning tomato not borscht. usually a good tomato juice. but I am going to try your recipe when I can go out again ,,self quarantine. right now not a kid 76 yrs old got nice garden 200 sq. feet growing beets carrots chard, green yellow purple and striped beans round and flat 5 types summer squash all heirlooms. radish 5 kinds carrots 4 kinds a squash caller Rampacanti Italian looks like a native war club rutabaga I am a really good home cook learned from da best MOM. , and was an associate of James , Jimmy to his friends ,Beard …..as he said ,,”good Eating ‘
Antony says
I will definitely try this recipe but, just because I hate undercooked potato, it appears that the potatoes will be cooked for only 5 minutes after the soup boils. Are you sure that is enough to make the potatoes tender?
vikalinka says
Hi Antony, the potatoes are cut into quite small chunks, which makes them cook much faster than whole potatoes. I prefer my potatoes to be cooked all the way through yet holding their shape, otherwise they fall apart in the soup. That being said, you can definitely increase cooking time if you feel like your potatoes aren’t soft enough.
Jan Isaacs-Wade says
Oh does this feel like both of my granndma’s cooking. I’m 60 years old and it really takes me back to the 1960s when I had both of my grandmothers in the kitchen! Their parents hailed from the Ukraine and until now, I’ve missed their cooking goodness. Thank you Julia. ♥️
vikalinka says
So happy my recipe are bringing lovely memories, Jan! Cooking is how we keep them alive. 🙂
Olivia Atherton says
Since I’m single I don’t normally make a lot of the recipes you share, but I just wanted to say I read every. single. one of your post!!! you’re an incredible photographer, writer, everything! I just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing on here!!!
vikalinka says
Olivia, that is so sweet! Thank you for saying that! I am happy to hear you enjoy my blog.
Robrert Skurko says
I can’t wait to try this Russian soup. My mother made something exactly like it and I loved it. Mother’s and father’s parents from Eastern Slovakia (Ukraine or Russia). Thanks for sharing your recipes.
vikalinka says
You are very welcome, Robert and I hope this recipe will live up to your memories of your mom’s soup.