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Lean cabbage soup

Lean Shchi with Fresh Cabbage

A tasty, meatless shchi (cabbage soup) made with fresh cabbage for your table. This shchi comes together faster than the version with regular cabbage, since early cabbage is much more tender and soft. It's perfect for anyone observing a fast or not eating meat. And anyone watching their figure can eat this shchi without worry.

Lyalich

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Water

1.5

Young cabbage

350

Onion

Carrot

0.5

Vegetable oil

Green onion

Fresh herbs

Salt

Potatoes

250

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 14 % 1 g

Fats 29 % 2 g

Carbohydrates 57 % 4 g

29 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 45 min

Step 1:

Gather all the ingredients you need for lean shchi with fresh cabbage. When choosing fresh cabbage, pay attention to its quality. The head should be firm, with fewer green leaves — those can give the finished shchi a bitter taste.
Step 2:

Put a pot of water over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Peel and wash the potatoes. Put one small potato into the pot whole, cut the rest into medium strips, and add them to the pot too. Salt to taste and cook for 10–15 minutes, until half done.
Step 3:

Remove any dirty or damaged leaves from the cabbage. Since the cabbage is fresh, there's no need to hack the head apart with a knife — just peel off the amount of leaves you need. Left whole, the cabbage keeps better and doesn't spoil. Shred the cabbage you need into thin strips, add it to the pot with the potatoes, and cook for 7–10 minutes.
Step 4:

Peel and rinse the onion and cut it into small cubes. Pour vegetable oil into a skillet and set it over medium heat. Add the chopped onion.
Step 5:

Peel, wash, and grate the carrot on the fine side of a grater, and add it to the skillet with the onion. Sauté the vegetables over medium heat for 7 minutes until done.
Step 6:

Take the whole, cooked potato out of the pot and mash it with a fork. Then return it to the pot. This makes our shchi rich and hearty.
Step 7:

Add the sautéed vegetables to the pot with the rest of the vegetables.
Step 8:

Add a bay leaf, adjust the salt to taste, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Step 9:

Wash and dry the green onion and fresh herbs, chop them finely, and add them to the soup. Stir, bring to a boil, and take it off the heat. Let it sit for 5–10 minutes so the shchi can steep.
Step 10:

Our lean shchi with fresh cabbage is ready. Ladle it into bowls and serve. Enjoy.

This is a classic recipe for lean shchi with fresh cabbage. But if you add a variety of vegetables — tomato, bell pepper, green peas, beans, or celery — you'll get a new flavor every time. You can also add tomato paste. If you don't like vegetables cut into strips, cut the potatoes into cubes and the cabbage into squares.