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Cabbage soup in a Russian oven

Shchi (Russian Cabbage Soup) Baked in the Oven

One way to make shchi the slow, oven-baked way. Shchi is the cornerstone hot dish of Russian cooking. The forerunner of today's shchi appeared once people started growing cabbage. There's no single "correct" version—you make it from what you have on hand, following a few basic principles.

The Patricks channel

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Potatoes

Beef brisket

1.2

Tomatoes

500

Onion

Sauerkraut

800

Carrot

Bay leaves

Salt

Ground black pepper

Water

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 40 % 4 g

Fats 30 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 30 % 3 g

49 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

This soup is very simple to make. Of all the ingredients, only the carrot and beef brisket get cut into large pieces—everything else goes in whole. Put the brisket in the bottom of a cast-iron pot, then layer on carrot, tomatoes, sauerkraut, and finally potatoes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste as you go.
Step 2:

Pour in 4 liters (about 1 gallon) of water, stopping about 2 cm below the rim so the soup has room to come to a boil before braising without boiling over.
Step 3:

Put the full pot in the oven (or wood-fired oven) and close it up for about four hours. That's long enough for the soup to braise down into proper shchi. Enjoy!

You can make this recipe in a wood-fired oven at a country house or in a regular oven at home. You won't get the smoky aroma in a home oven, but the result is still delicious. First set the oven hot enough to bring the soup to a boil—about 300°F (150°C)—then drop it to braising temperature, around 210°F (100°C), and let it go for about five hours. In old Russia, shchi was made from whatever was around—it was essentially a soup born of peasant scarcity. If nothing had come up in the spring garden yet, they'd even toss in nettles (that's a version of shchi too). Before potatoes reached the region, they used any root vegetables; tomatoes weren't used at all, since they weren't grown either. As for meat, people used whatever they had: if a hare came back from the hunt, in went the hare; if it was grouse or woodfowl, they used the bird. The sauerkraut here adds a tang that gives shchi its distinctive, pleasant flavor. If you'd rather skip the sourness, use plain fresh cabbage instead. Enjoy!