Kapusnyak

Gorgeous bowl of Kapusnyak! Photo: Olena Osipov

We've written often about the amazing Kozaks and their beautiful songs, their impressive military feats, their enigmatic leaders, their fun gadgets, and even an architectural style that they invented. Today we will talk about one of their secret weapons – a soup that makes them undefeatable – Kapusnyak!

Kapusnyak is delightfully but sophisticatedly sour, and can easily be made vegetarian by using your favorite mushrooms – though in the winter it's extra nice to make it super meaty using pork, chicken, or your choice! Today we will bring you an old school recipe that is spiced with the Kozak's freedom-loving spirit… and a bit of millet and salo.

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Zaporizhzhian Kapusnyak

This is a quite old school recipe – millet is very traditional in Kozak cuisine! The potatoes, of course, are not. If you skip the millet, you have the base of a modern Kapusnyak – and you can totally experiment with other kinds of meat.

Ingredients

  • Pork (pork ribs work well): 900g
  • Salo (pork belly works): 100g
  • Potatoes: 500g
  • Onion: 3 pc. small to medium
  • Carrot: 2 pc. medium (around 200g)
  • Parsley root: 100g
  • Celery: 100g
  • Sauerkraut: 500g (store-bought is completely acceptable)
  • Millet: 40g
  • Garlic: 1 clove.
  • Parsley greens: one bunch (20g)
  • Bay leaf: 1 pc.
  • Salt: 1 tsp.
  • For serving: sour cream, parsley greens.

Recipe

  1. Put the pork in a deep pot, cover it with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Skim off the foam, reduce the heat and add one whole carrot and onion. Cook everything for about an hour covered by the lid. Remove the cooked meat from the broth.
  2. Peel and cut the remaining carrot, onion (set aside a little for step 3), celery, and parsley root into strips, and then sauté in a pan in butter or oil until cooked.
  3. Rinse the sauerkraut, wring it out and cook it over low heat in a fresh pan, adding a little broth from time to time.
  4. While the sauerkraut is cooking, we can prepare the star ingredient: in a mortar or using a blender, grind the salo with a clove of garlic, finely chopped onion, and parsley greens.
  5. Cut the potatoes into medium-sized cubes and put them in the broth. When they are becoming soft, but not fully cooked yet, add stewed sauerkraut and millet to it, followed by sautéed vegetables.
  6. When everything seems fully cooked, add the pork, ground salo, bay leaf, and salt. Then turn off the heat and leave the pot under the closed lid for 20-30 minutes to infuse.

Before serving, some people like to mash the veggies a little more. It is usually served with a dollop of sour cream on top, sprinkled with parsley, and don't forget warm bread on the side – preferably rye. Like many soups, this one especially is often tastier the next day.

Now all you need is an Oseledets, a Kozak Pipe, and a Bulava!

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Kapusnyak with Buckwheat and Cracklings

Kapusnyak with Buckwheat and Cracklings from Yevhen Klopotenko

Ingredients

  • 2-3 chicken thighs
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2-3 allspice peas
  • 2 buds of cloves
  • 2.5 liters of water
  • 350 g of sauerkraut
  • 100 g of buckwheat
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sour cream for serving (optional)

Recipe

  1. First you need to make cracklings. Remove the skin from 2-3 chicken thighs.
  2. Cut the chicken skin into small pieces and fry in a dry pan until golden brown. Leave them until the soup is served.
  3. Make chicken stock: Add the chicken thighs, one carrot (roughly chopped), and a whole onion, making crisscross cuts.
  4. Add spices: 2 bay leaves, 2-3 allspice peas and 2 clove buds. Boil the broth for 20 minutes. If necessary, remove the foam that has formed, and then strain it.
  5. Add 100g of buckwheat and 350g of sauerkraut to the broth. Cook until the buckwheat is ready and the sauerkraut is soft – usually around 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Serve the soup hot, and garnish with cracklings and meat from the chicken thighs. Add sour cream to taste!

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Смачного!

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Part of our series on Ukrainian recipes! You can find the other entries in the series here:

Borshch | Varenyky (Recipe) | Varenyky Cultural Background | Horilka | Banosh | Hrechanyky | Kyivskyi Cake | Makivnyk | Vyshnyak | Drunken Cherry Cake | Varenukha | Pumpkin Porridge | Lazy Varenyky | Holubtsi | Kalach | Kvas | Christmas Borshch | Uzvar | Kutya | Beetroot Salad | Kapusnyak (Traditional) | Nalysnyk | Bublyk | Deruny | Wild Mushroom Sauce | Kozak Kapusnyak | Yavorivskyi Pie | Spring Dough Birds | Kholodets | Easter Bread (Babka/Paska) | Khrin & Tsvikli | Shpundra | Teterya | Green Borshch | Kalatusha | Elderflower Kvas | Crimean Tatar Chebureky | Ryazhanka | Verhuny | Liubystok (Lovage) | Young Borshch with Hychka | Baturyn Cookies | Strawberry Varenyky | Stinging Nettle Pancakes | Kholodnyk | Syrnyky | Salo | Kotleta Po Kyivsky (Chicken Kyiv) | Savory Garlic Pampushky | Pampukh (Donuts) | Halushky | Odesa Borshch | Korovai | Hombovtsi | Traditional Medivnyk | Space Age Medivnyk | Mandryk | Pliatsky: Royal Cherry | Ohirkivka (Pickle Soup) | Benderyky | Pliatsok "Hutsulka" | Kruchenyky | Vereshchaka | Medivka | Honey Cookies | Fuchky | Khrinovukha | Knysh | Bryndzya | Kalyta | Pasulya Pidbyvana | Kapusnyak (Easy) | Kvasha | Kachana Kasha | Mazuryky | The Ponchyky of Lake Svitiaz | Rosivnytsia | Kulish | Shcherba | Dandelion Honey | Sandy Varenyky | Potaptsi | Kasha Zozulya | Tovchanka | Cherry Kompot | Crimean Tatar Coffee Culture | Stewed Cabbage with Prunes & Walnuts | Grated Pie with Fresh Strawberries | New Potatoes with Dill | Kysil | Zucchini Deruny | Manna Kasha | Varenyky with Cherries | Apple Carrot Salad | Vatrushka | Vylkove Fish Soup | Smerekova Khata | Banyk | Hartanachka

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The 1062nd day of a ten-year invasion that has been going on for centuries.

One day closer to victory.

🇺🇦 HEROIAM SLAVA! 🇺🇦

by duellingislands