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Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Russian Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup

sweet and sour cabbage soup - vegan


Are you looking for a delicious soup recipe that the entire family will love?  This sweet and sour cabbage soup tastes like a tangy vegetable soup. My husband who is a lemon lover thought it was exceptional.

It is naturally gluten free, dairy free, nut free, and soy free- ideal for a group with diverse eating needs. It is also a perfect Passover soup. 





vegan cabbage soup


When I was growing up, my mother used to make a sweet and sour cabbage soup that filled our home with warmth and our bellies with sustenance. It was based on my grandmother Yudess's hearty recipe that she brought with her when she immigrated to the US from Russia in the late 1800's. Her soup was filling and delicious.


Not my vegan version- the meat version

Yudess's recipes depended on vegetables that could survive the long cold winters in Russia. These were usually root vegetables such as cabbage, potatoes, onions, and beets which were staples in every family. She also made beet borsht, potato soup, and onion mushroom soup.



My mother (Yudess's daughter) made her cabbage recipe with stew meat which made it heartier and fattier; I am making my recipe vegan which makes it much lighter and leaner.  My mother added raisins and some brown sugar. I am using the raisins but omitted the brown sugar. Instead I added a few dates to add to the sweetness.




I now make all of my soups in the Instant Pot because I LOVE MY INSTANT POT and in this case, it saves considerable time. WAIT- if you don't have an Instant Pot, you can still make this recipe. See  directions below for the regular stove top version too!

It's an uncomplicated recipe that is loaded with healthy fiber and nutrients. It's very light, yet satisfying and can be enjoyed during any season. As with all my recipes, it is naturally gluten free!

Author: Judee Algazi @ Gluten Free A-Z Blog
Prep Time: 20 minutes or 10 minutes with short cuts (see notes below) 
Instant Pot Cook Time: 1 minute (plus heat up time about 10 minutes)
Serves: 6 bowls

Ingredients: 
2 cups of diced onion 
2 medium shallots, peeled and diced
1 cup of sliced celery
1 cup shredded carrots
8 cups of shredded or chopped white cabbage
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 14 ounce can of organic diced tomatoes with juice (or 2 cups diced tomatoes+ 1/2 cup tomato juice)
1/2 cup of organic raisins (I used dark)
4 organic dates, chopped
1/2 cup of water
Juice of 1 fresh lemon (about 3/4 cup of lemon juice) 
5 cups of your favorite vegetable broth (I used Tabatchnicks)
add an additional cup of water making the stove top version


Directions for Instant Pot 
Soak raisins and dates in 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl. Set aside

In another small bowl, toss onion and shallots in 1 teaspoon of olive oil or omit the oil to make an oil-free soup. Add the mixture to the insert liner of the Instant Pot and press saute. Saute (stirring occasionally) for 5 minutes until onions start to become translucent.  

Add celery, carrots, cabbage, and garlic. Use more olive oil spray to coat the vegetables, toss and saute for about another 4 minutes stirring the entire time. Add diced tomatoes, the soaked raisins and dates with the water, lemon juice and the vegetable broth. 

Cancel saute, secure lid, close steam valve, an set to pressure cook for 1 minute. Release steam manually according to manufacturers directions after 4 minutes. Taste and decide if it needs salt and more lemon juice.
All soup tastes better after it sits for a while and the flavors have time to mingle.

Stove Top Directions: 

In a small bowl soak raisins and dates in 1/2 cup of water
In another small bowl, toss onion and shallots in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. 
In a wide Dutch oven type soup pot, sauté the onions and shallots for about 5 minutes in water or a little olive oil, stirring frequently. 

Add celery, carrots, cabbage, and garlic and sauté for about another 4 minutes stirring the entire time. Add diced tomatoes, the soaked raisins and dates with the water, lemon juice and the vegetable broth. 
Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.

 Cook covered for about 45 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Taste and decide if it needs salt and more lemon juice.All soup tastes better after it sits for a while and the flavors have time to mingle.

My Notes: 

1. The recipe calls for shredded cabbage. You can make your own or if you are really in a hurry, you can buy a 14 ounce bag of shredded cabbage (the bags they use for coleslaw). 

2. You can do the same with the carrots. The recipe calls for shredded carrots. You can buy a bag of matchstick cut carrots and use 1 cup.

3. I used Tabatchnick Vegetable Broth ( usually available in the Kosher sections)- Its good!

4. Use the juice of a real lemon not lemon juice from a bottle- it makes a difference

Which title do you like better? Mama's Sweet and Sour or Russian Sweet and Sour


plant-based and oil free cabbage soup


cup of cabbage soup

Shared on Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking where anyone can share a food related post.





Also shared on Souper Sunday where anyone can share a soup, sammie, or salad recipe!



13 comments:

  1. This looks awesomely tasty... I'd probably omit the dates but otherwise the lemon and everything would make this dish a good pleaser here.

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  2. I love recipes with a history like this, Judee! Equally, I love how you have made the traditional recipe vegan and lower in sugar! Thank you for sharing this hearty comfort food with the Hearth and Soul Link party.

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  3. Yum, this looks delicious. I pinned it for later.
    Have a great weekend,
    Kippi

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  4. My mother used "sour salt" instead of lemon in her sweet-sour borschts. Lemons were scarce and expensive in the shtetls, so that was how they did it. Cabbage borscht was a winter dish; she made the beet or spinach versions to eat cold in the summer. I'm reading a book about Russian cuisine including a variety of soups; will be posting about it soon.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  5. What a great recipe for Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup, I would love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday,447 this week. Hope you have a great Labor Day Weekend and come back to see us real soon!
    Miz Helen

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  6. Oh my, this is a perfectly timed share for the autumn weather and seems easy enough to prepare.
    #TrafficJamWeekend

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  7. I haven't added dates to a soup before but I think I will like this because it is sweet and sour. :) Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party!

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  8. I haven't add dates either, but I have a stash of sour salt for just these kinds of soups. One of my grandmothers always made this with beef.

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  9. What an interesting combination of ingredients with the raisins and dates. Sweet and sour is so satisfying. Thanks for sharing with Souper Sundays. ;-)

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  10. Out of the blue this morning I got a sudden voracious craving for sweet-and-sour cabbage soup. I grew up like you and many of those on this blog with the scrumptious traditional version from the Old World: sweetened with gingersnaps or white sugar or brown sugar, rich with flanken, and perhaps thickened with a slab of caraway rye bread. Knowing you would have a compliant version I went straight to your site.
    No offense, but neither of my grandmothers had ever *seen* a date, and I didn’t have a load of faith that this recipe would address my craving, but my faith in you LOL won out. I have just finished two enormous bowls. If you are right and this will improve on melding, let’s hope there is some left to meld.
    I made this virtually as you instructed. My only change was that obviously your lemons are the size of gorillas and mine are not. While you suggested that a whole lemon makes 3/4 of cup of lemon juice, the only two lemons I possessed, even warmed and rolled before cutting, made less than a third of a cup of juice. So I tossed that in, but also added the peels of the lemon to hopefully make up for some acidity, which worked. (PS The lemon peels turned out to be succulently edible!) Having used Tabatchnick’s vegetable broth, there is of course no need for an extra grain of salt or pepper, which you were smart to leave out of your recipe.


    Judee! This came out so perfectly balanced in terms of sweet and sour, and hit all the authentic notes my palate craved, I am frankly quite amazed. I urge your readers to print this out and tack it to themselves. Ouch, but you all get the point.

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  11. I am so sorry to hear about your mother in law's passing. It's very hard to lose parents, no matter how old they are. May her memory be for a blessing and may she rest in peace.

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  12. I am sorry to hear of your mother in law's passing. It is so hard to lose parents, no matter how old they are. May her memory be for a blessing and may she rest in peace.

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  13. I am so sorry to hear about your mother in law's passing. It's very hard to lose parents, no matter how old they are. May her memory be for a blessing and may she rest in peace.

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