Cabbage, Russian Style

This family cabbage recipe has the spicy, hot, sweet and sour flavors we love! If you don’t like hot spice, don’t add the hot pepper flakes. The other spices are not hot. I list here a range of spice quantities. I always use the larger amount of spices.

This makes 2-3 quarts, depending how large your cabbage is. The size of your cabbage also affects how spicy it is. Your need more spice for a larger cabbage. I try to find a 7 inch cabbage.

The original recipe was from Grandma Korzin, but Aunt Olga and my Mom taught me to make it. Aunt Olga would make it for Thanksgiving every year at her home. We each developed our own version of this recipe, including my Mom, Sonia. Grandma was from the Minsk region of Belarus.

   Ingredients

• 4-6 strips bacon, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 head cabbage, not too large, about 7 inches across, roughly chopped into 1 to 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons caraway seeds
• 5-10 whole allspice
• 2-4 bay leaves
• ½-1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
• ½-1 teaspoon hot pepper seeds/flakes
• 1  28 oz. can tomatoes, chopped
• 1  15 oz can sauerkraut, not drained or rinsed
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Directions

1. Sauté bacon in a large cooking pot
2. Add onion and saute until translucent
3. Add cabbage and stir
4. Add brown sugar and spices and stir
5. Add tomatoes and sauerkraut, stir
6. Add ketchup, stir
7. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 1 hour, stirring it up often.
8. The spices are hard and need to be cooked at least 45 minute so they soften. So taste and check the cabbage for seasoning early in the cooking time.

Voila!