Kapusta - A hearty main dish / side dish from Poland

This Polish dish is a surprisingly hearty dish that doesn't contain meat (although you can certain add a protein to it if you'd like). It's got cabbage and sauerkraut (yes - I know sauerkraut has cabbage) for that good gut health and it hits those tasty sweet and sour notes that go so well together.

This dish takes no time to put together, but the key is letting it simmer slowly on the stove for at least 2 - 3 hours.

The inspiration and basis for this recipe goes out to my cousin Kathy and her Polish heritage who gave me the main stream of consciousness influence for this braised gem. I hope she doesn't mind, but I changed it around to what I had in the pantry - so it has kind of become my variation.

Ingredients

• 1 Medium sized head of green cabbage - washed and coarsely chopped

• 2 Medium Onions - diced into 1/4" pieces (I like 1 yellow onion and 1 red onion)

• 4 Cloves of Garlic - minced

• 2 - 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil

• 1 - 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes

• 1 - 14 1/2 oz Can (or Jar) Sauerkraut (do not drain - you want the liquid)

• 1 x 10 3/4 oz Can Condensed Tomato Soup (I ushey ared Campbell's)

• 1 Teaspoon Herbes de Provence

• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Caraway seeds (more traditional but optional)

• 2 - 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

• Salt and Pepper (to taste)

• Water (to adjust level of braising liquid)

Directions

1. In a medium sized pot (I used a medium sized porcelain coated cast iron Dutch oven), place over medium heat, add a heavy drizzle of Canola oil and bring up to temperature (until it shimmers).

2. Add onion and garlic and saute to sweat. Add some salt and black pepper while they are sweating.

3. Continue sweating the onions and garlic until they are beginning to become translucent (about 3 - 4 minutes - you don't want them to brown).

4. Add the Herbes de Provence and Caraway seeds and stir in with the sauteed onions and garlic to brighten the herbs (about 30 - 45 seconds)

5. Add the chopped cabbage and mix to coat with the oil and to combine with the onions and garlic. Continue stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has started to cook (about 4 - 5 minutes.

6. Add the sauerkraut and its juice into the pan and mix together with the sauteed cabbage.

7. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato soup and mix thoroughly with the cooking vegetables.

8. Adjust the amount of water in pot until the cooking kapusta is covered in liquid (I add water to the ingredients cans to clean out the contents of the cans).

9. Bring to a high simmer and cook for 15 - 20 minutes.

10. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for a remaining (I would suggest a minimum of 90 minutes but the longer at "low and slow" the better.

11. Plate by ladling into a nice bowl or this can be served as a nice side dish as well.

TIP: You can put your favorite braising meat - chicken, beef, meatballs etc. into this dish as well. If you'd like to do this, I would suggest browning the meat in the dutch oven, removing it, and then starting to saute the onions. When you have added in all the other ingredients and starting to simmer the soup, I would suggest returning the meat to the kapusta to braise.

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

TheITGourmet

Italian Wedding Soup - a marriage of flavor and goodness!

Recently, Aileen and I made this recipe on a cold and damp winter day. This is now being added to our soup rotation! The great thing about this recipe is it doesn't take all day to cook and steep to build its flavor. The other thing that's great about it is it awesome heated up the next day (guilty! I had a bowl of it the next day for lunch). By the way - the way we make this recipe is using our medium sized 4 quart sauce pan (even the meatballs).

Ingredients

• 1 Yellow onion - 1/2 of the onion minced fine and 1/2 of the onion 1/8" dice

• 2 Large carrots - washed, peeled, and slice into 1/8" - 1/4" coins (as shown in the picture above)

• 1 lb Ground Turkey (I prefer dark meat)

• 1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning Mix (Basil, Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage)

• 4 Cloves of garlic - 2 minced or grated (for the meatballs) and 2 sliced thin for the soup stock (or minced if you prefer)

• 1/4 Cup panko breadcrumbs (unseasoned)

• Olive Oil

• 3 - 4 Tablespoons chicken stock base (I prefer the Better than Bouillon Brand)

• 5 or 6 cups of water

• 6 oz Kale (remove and discard the large stems and chop / cut any large pieces)

• 3 - 4 oz Israeli couscous (or Acini di Pepe pasta)

• Shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

• Salt and fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

TIP: If you don't like any of the seasonings in the pre-packaged Italian seasoning mix, then make your own! Mix and match your favorite spices from the ones listed above.

Directions

Make the Meatballs

1. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, panko bread crumbs, 2 cloves of the minced garlic, the minced 1/2 onion, 1/2 Tablespoon of the Italian seasoning, 1 Teaspoon of salt, 1/2 Teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, and 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil. Combine the mixture thoroughly - go ahead and get in there with your hands and really mix it well.

2. Form the mixture into small meatballs - about 3/4" in diameter and set aside onto a chilled plate or platter.

3. Heat heavy drizzle of olive oil in your medium pot over a medium / medium-high heat.

4. When oil is shimmering, add the meatballs to the pan to cook them. Keep an eye on the meatballs as they cook to make sure you keep turning them until they are browned all over (TIP: Try not to crowd the pan - you will need to cook the meatballs in batches so you can keep the heat even and you have room to navigate with them).

5. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.

Make the Soup Stock

1. In the same pot, turn down the heat to medium-high and add another heavy drizzle of oil.

2. Add the remaining diced onion and carrot. Cook the onion and carrots, stirring occasionally until the onions are sweated and translucent and the carrots are slightly soft (approximately 4 minutes).

3. Add the remaining garlic and Italian Seasoning - cook until you've brightened the he spices and they become fragrant (about 30-45 seconds).

4. Stir in the chicken stock base and water. Add salt to taste and bring the soup to a simmer.

5. Add the kale and couscous (which is fun to type and say!!!) or pasta. Continue to cook until the couscous and carrot are tender and kale has softened (approximately 10 minutes). Make sure you look ahead to the next step.

6. In the last 2 - 3 minutes of cooking, return the meatballs to the stockpot and cook until the ingredients are cooked through.

7. Adjust final taste of soup with salt and pepper.

8. Plate your soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve with some nice crusty bread.

TIP: I love serving this soup with sauteed kale - simply saute it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and a pinch of red hot pepper to add a kic (I put the garlic in after I start to saute the kale so the garlic doesn't burn). I also take and add a few tablespoons of the soup to give it a little more flavor. Add a little salt and pepper to taste - So good!!!

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

TheITGourmet

Shredded Chicken Nachos

So... Last night we wanted to try a new Instant Pot recipe that we recently were turned onto. It was for Healthy Refried Beans.

I said - let's make some Nachos. What kind of nachos? Hmmm, let's see what we have in the pantry? Boneless Chicken Breasts (I know, I know.... BORING), Red and Green Bell Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, and of course the refried beans.

Ready, set, go...

Ingredients

• 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts

• Water

• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper - cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper - cored, seeded, and thinly sliced

• 1/2 Small Yellow Onion - thinly sliced

• 1 or 2 Cloves Garlic (minced or grated)

• 1 - 2 Tablespoons Oil (Canola)

• Salt and Black Pepper to Taste

• Tortilla Chips

• Nacho fixin's of your choice - e.g., shredded cheddar cheese, salsa, hot sauce - go crazy.

Directions (Shredded Chicken)

1. Take a small saucepan and fill it with approximately 3 inches of water (this is your poaching liquid). Place approximately 1 Tablespoon Salt into the water (it's okay - this is just the poaching water (NOTE: We cook with kosher chicken breasts that comes pre-salted as part of the koshering process therefore I skip the salt). Place approximately 1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper into the water and give it a quick stir. Place the boneless chicken breasts in the water and turn up the burner to medium high. Bring the water to a boil and cook the chicken breasts for approximately 20 minutes.

2. When the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the poaching liquid and dry off the cooked breasts. Using two forks, pull / shred the chicken and sit aside.

Directions (Sauteed Peppers and Onion)

1. Heat oil over medium in a small saute pan until shimmering

2. Add peppers, onion and saute over medium heat for approximately 2 - 3 minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute until peppers, onions, and garlic are soft.

Directions (Nachos)

I'm not going to go crazy here - Take a pile of tortilla chips and start to stack your ingredients as you desire (see picture above). Assemble your nachos and have fun with it. I'm sure you can take it from here!

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

TheITGourmet