Ukrainians love soup — hot, cold, meat or vegetable-based. It’s served daily in homes and restaurants regardless of season. Borshch, the quintessential Ukrainian soup, is a culinary staple recognized worldwide and inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2022. While borshch is consumed year-round, cooler weather restores the taste for the second most popular soup in Ukraine, sauerkraut soup – kapusnyak (капусняк in Cyrillic). Barrels of cabbage, harvested, shredded and salted in late summer, have fermented for over a month. Now, this tangy, soured cabbage and its fermenting brine are ready to be incorporated into soups and other dishes.
Kapusnyak, an ancient Ukrainian dish, is often the first course of fall and winter dinners. Sauerkraut, its essential ingredient, provides a distinctive aroma and tangy taste. Ukraine is kapusnyak’s homeland, with variations also prepared in Poland (kapusniak) and Slovakia (kapustnica).
Ukrainians have learned much about cultivating cabbage and its nutritional and healing properties over centuries. Cabbage was a revered ingredient. Fresh or fermented cabbage stored well in cold cellars over autumn and winter months prevented hunger by providing essential nutrients and giving strength for hard field work. Hearty cabbage dishes, especially soups and stews, were on the peasants’ table daily. Every housewife had cabbage cooking secrets, but the Cossack way (po Kozatskyi –по козацькі) was the most common way to cook kapusnyak.
The Cossack way evolved in the 15th to the 18th centuries, when Zaporizhia Cossacks, a strong political and military force organized by escaped male serfs who preferred the freedom of the steppes over life under Polish aristocrats, challenged the authority of Ukraine’s occupiers: the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Empire, and the Crimean Tatar Khanate. They established a self-governed republic at Zaporozhian Sich located below the rapids on the Dnieper River. For centuries, these Cossacks fought Ukraine’s occupiers and survived by farming the land under their control. In 1775, however, after Sich was destroyed by order of the Russian empress, these Cossacks were disbanded and forced into serfdom, settling in surrounding villages and bringing their culinary practices and taste preferences with them.
Kapusnyak was an everyday Cossack food between growing seasons—a one-pot meal based on fermented cabbage and brine with whatever other ingredients were available. Legend has it that village women, seeking to attract these new resident-bachelors into their homes and lives, learned and adapted Cossack methods by preparing kapusnyak. Thus, thanks to Cossack culinary customs, this soup changed often, and the practice of enhancing sauerkraut with whatever ingredients were available was established and was passed down through subsequent generations.
No one kapusnyak recipe rules; recipes vary from cook to cook, region to region, season to season. Thus, there is ample room for a cook’s creativity. Kapusnyaks differ depending on incorporated ingredients, but there are some common elements:
Broth ingredients
Broth: Fresh or smoked beef, pork, turkey, chicken, or even fish are equally suitable for broth. Smoked meat adds special savoriness. Vegetable broth also makes an excellent base, especially during fasting periods.
Sauerkraut
Cabbage: Sauerkraut is the principal ingredient giving the dish the desired pleasant sourness. Sauerkraut can be used directly with brine (which is added to the broth) or rinsed so the dish is not so sour. I do not rinse sauerkraut but control tartness by the amount of added brine. But kapusnyak can also be cooked with a mixture of sauerkraut and fresh white cabbage, and sometimes only fresh is used but the taste in this case will be different, not as rich and bright. The remaining ingredients are at the cook’s discretion, depending on the preferences of a particular family or cook, the time of year, and the availability of ingredients at hand.
Meat: Although one type of protein is usually added to a kapusnyak, a combination will also work. Fresh or smoked pork, whatever cut is available but not too lean, or leftover meat can also be added. Ham, bacon, sausage and fatback can impart a deep meaty flavor. Well-browned beef, turkey and chicken can also be used. During periods of religious fasting, kapusnyak is prepared without meat but with the addition of vegetable oil. Sometimes, in lieu of meat, the dish is seasoned with sour cream.
Soup ingredients
Vegetables: Potatoes, onions and carrots are the usual added vegetables, but fresh champignons, wild or dried mushrooms and celery root can be added to enrich the flavor. Dried mushrooms add umami to the soup. Some cooks add fresh tomatoes, even though tomatoes arrived in Ukraine long after the Cossacks were disbanded.
Cereals: Potatoes are added to make the soup more filling, but kapusnyak can also be supplemented with various cereals: rice, buckwheat, millet, pearl barley or wheat. The Cossacks added millet to make a hearty kapusnyak, but cereals are not essential and can be omitted.
Thickener: Kapusnyak made only with broth is clear and light, which I prefer. But the soup can be thickened with a beurre manié*, a classic flour/oil roux or by pureeing part of the solids. Some cooks thicken by cooking one potato from the recipe in the broth until it dissolves but dicing and adding remaining potatoes at the final cooking, so they maintain their shape.
Flavorings and greens: Bay leaves and garlic are usually added to the broth. But if a more intense garlic flavor is desired, a minced garlic clove can be added just before serving. A handful of fresh dill or parsley completes the kapusnyak.
I love celebrating the arrival of the fall equinox with a kapusnyak dinner. It is an ideal soup that warms not only the body, but also the soul on a chilly night. It is an excellent make-ahead soup that tastes better the next day after flavors have melded. Although it freezes beautifully for several months, it never lasts that long in our house.
Kapusnyak with sausage
Over the years, I’ve made kapusnyak with a variety of cured pork — ham, Canadian bacon, pork butt and sausage. Each version is savory and satisfying, even though each has a different taste profile—the more meat, the heartier the soup. Given the number of ingredients, a bowl of rich, thick, tart kapusnyak with some crusty bread brings gastronomic happiness.
Kapusnyak
For the broth:
2 pounds (907 g) smoked pork butt
2.5 quarts (2.4 l) water
1 large yellow or white onion, diced
1 cup celery root, shredded, or chopped celery stalks
1 clove garlic, minced, optional
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Stems from 1 small bunch of parsley (leaves reserved for garnish)
Stems from 1 small bunch of dill (leaves reserved for garnish)
For the soup:
2 tablespoons sunflower or other neutral vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
2 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
1 ounce dried mushrooms, rehydrated, or ½ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 pounds (907 g) sauerkraut, drained, rinsed or unrinsed, to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (optional)
2 tablespoons butter, softened (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
For garnish:
Dill, or parsley leaves, finely chopped
Rehydrating dried mushrooms: Omit step if using fresh mushrooms At least 1 hour before making soup, or overnight, place dried mushrooms in a spouted measuring cup and add 1 ½ cup (375 ml) boiling water. Cover tightly with plastic film. Set aside until soft.
When ready to use, drain the mushrooms into a sieve over a bowl to catch the soaking liquid. Squeeze the mushrooms to extract additional liquid. Then chop the mushrooms into ½-inch pieces, discarding the thick stems and pieces, and set aside.
Strain the soaking liquid through a paper coffee filter (or folded paper towel) to catch any sand. You should have about 1 cup (237 ml) of soaking liquid. Reserve the clean liquid, discarding the filter.
Preparing broth: In a large stock pot, place pork butt, water, chopped onion, celery root, garlic (if using), bay leaves, parsley and dill stems and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam and fat that rises to the surface.
Reduce heat and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and separates from the bones, adding water, if necessary.
When cool enough to handle, remove the meat and chop it into bite-size pieces. Reserve. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Keep the broth simmering on low heat.
Sautéing vegetables: Sauté onion, carrots and fresh mushrooms, if using, in a large skillet until onions become translucent, carrots soften, and mushrooms exude their liquid.
Assembling soup: To the stock pot with simmering liquid, add onion, carrots, mushrooms (along with strained soaking liquid if using dried mushrooms), and sauerkraut.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauerkraut is tender, about 30 minutes. Then add the potatoes, more water, if necessary and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Thickening the soup (optional): In a small bowl, fork blend flour with butter until the mixture forms a smooth, dough-like paste. Stir in a few ladles of hot soup to soften blend, and then add the mix a few spoons to the soup, whisking until well incorporated and the soup has thickened to taste.
Return the meat to the soup, heat through, and serve with fresh parsley or dill and rustic bread on the side.
Serves10-12.
*Beurre manié is a paste made from equal parts softened butter and flour. It thickens sauces, soups, and stews. The name comes from the French phrase for “kneaded butter.” Beurre manié is similar to a roux, but it is uncooked.
Photo credits: All photos: Slava Johnson
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