[Sca-cooks] Cabbage Rolls

[david friedman]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

I happened to come across:


>  > Could I have the recipe for the Russian cabbage soup?  Does it
>have a period
>  > source?
>>
>  > Liadan

It's not exactly a soup, but it's Russian, cabbage, and probably
period (some bits of Domostroi are 17th c.). From the Miscellany.

Russian Cabbage and Greens
Domostroi pp. 162-3

Chop cabbage, greens, or a mixture of both very fine, then wash them
well. Boil or steam them for a long time. On meat days, put in red
meat, ham, or a little pork fat; add cream or egg whites and warm the
mixture. During a fast, saturate the greens with a little broth, or
add some fat and steam it well. Add some groats, salt, and sour
cabbage soup; then heat it. Cook kasha the same way: steam it well
with lard, oil, or herring in a broth.

Note: the ingredient translated as "sour cabbage soup" turns up
elsewhere in the Domostroi in lists of things to brew: "For brewing
beer, ale, or sour cabbage soup, take malt or meal and hops. Beer
from the first grade makes good sour cabbage soup. You can make
vinegar, too, from a good mash." This suggests that it may really be
something like alegar (beer vinegar). We therefore substitute malt
vinegar.

Version 1	                                             Version 2
2 3/4 lb green cabbage (1 head)	     2 lb green cabbage (1 head)
3/4 lb turnip greens	                      5/8 lb mustard greens
3 c water	                                          2 1/2 c water
meat: 1 1/2 lb beef or lamb	        1 1/4 lb pork butt roast
6 egg whites	                                            1/2 c cream
1 c dry buckwheat groats (kasha)	        4/3 c dry buckwheat
groats (kasha)
2 t salt	                                            1 1/2 t salt
"sour cabbage soup":                               "sour cabbage
soup": 1 T malt vinegar
4 t malt vinegar

Chop cabbage and greens very fine. Bring water to a boil, add cabbage
and greens and simmer 30-40 minutes covered. Cut meat into bite-sized
chunks. Add meat and simmer another 25 minutes (this time probably
depends on the cut of meat). Add groats, salt and vinegar, and cook
another 15 minutes uncovered on moderate heat, until the liquid is
almost absorbed. Stir in egg whites or cream, heat for a minute or
two, and remove from heat.

These are two possible interpretations of a recipe with lots of
alternatives. In particular, it is not clear whether the groats,
salt, and "sour cabbage soup" belong only to the fast-day version or
to both meat-day and fast-day versions; we have assumed the latter.
--
David Friedman
Professor of Law
Santa Clara University
ddfr at best.com
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/