Pork Spare-Rib Soup with Sauerkraut and Vegetables (Kapusta) in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

When one thinks of spare ribs, pork or beef, one ordinarily thinks of barbecue with the meat slathered in rubs and tangy, peppery tomato-based sauces. I do not.  My heritage hails from Eastern Europe and Russia where pork ribs would be slowed cooked with onions, sauerkraut, and potatoes until the meat was unctuous and fall-off-the-bone.

I can still see my grandmother on Sunday family gatherings opening her oven door to inspect two slabs or pork ribs tied with string, one on top of the other and filled with sauerkraut and onions and then served with a side of mashed potatoes and that delicious gravy it rendered. Food is always best served with a large side or two of good memories!

Last winter, pork ribs were on sale, so I grabbed a slab intent to make a soup of which I had no recipe. My goal was to try to duplicate a wonderful tomato-based pork soup I enjoyed in a small Michigan town. After some googling, I really did not find any. They are rare. But, lo and behold, I found many pork and sauerkraut recipes. In Poland, it is called Kapusniak. In Lithuania, it called Kapusta.

I spent a good week pouring over different recipes taking note after note. Below is the recipe I created. It capitalizes on the most common of ingredients to be "authentic." And then the not so common ingredients, such as fennel, caraway and allspice berries. I have also suited it to more American tastes, hence it does not use straight sauerkraut. Instead, the sauerkraut is rinsed and squeezed so it is not so acidic or briny. I know many people only use fresh sauerkraut, not canned; actually, it should be the opposite. Fresh is laden with preservatives to keep it "fresh" in its plastic bag. My choice is Libby's or Eden's.

My associate at work, who is skeptical about sauerkraut, deemed it lick-the-bowl delicious.

I made this in my small, 12-cup Instant Pot pressure cooker. If you do not have a pressure cooker, just simmer on the stove, covered, for a good two hours or so. In the pressure cooker, it is done in 30 minutes!

Many recipes also use Kielbasa, but I only recommend that if you have access to authentic smoked Kielbasa that is not sold in sealed plastic. Some use mushrooms, fresh or dried, but I find mushrooms in the pressure cooker come out rubbery. If you do use mushrooms, cut them in large chunks.

At any rate, do not omit the spices--and that includes the dill! Sour cream could be an option---but when is the opportunity of sour cream ever an option!

And do garnish with the bones! If you have children, they will love the novelty.

• 2 lbs. pork spare ribs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 cups diced potatoes (I used baby golden, some left whole, others cut in half)
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded (optional)
• 3/4 to 1 cup fresh sauerkraut after it has been rinsed and squeezed dry
• 1, 10.5 ounce can beef broth
• 1, 10.5 can chicken stock
• 2, 10.5 cans water or more to just cover meat
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, lightly crushed
• 2-3 whole allspice berries, lightly crushed
• Dried dill
• Sour cream 

Rinse the spare ribs. Pat dry. Using a sharp paring knife, make a slit under the silver skin on the backside of ribs. Grab and rip it off. Cut ribs into 2-rib sections. Set aside.

Place onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, garlic, cabbage (if using) and sauerkraut in bottom of Instant Pot. Throw in caraway, fennel and all spice. Mix. Salt and pepper to taste.  

Arrange pork ribs on top of vegetable mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.

Slowly add beef broth and chicken stock against the side of the pot. Pour in water, about two cans or so, just until it comes up to the pork or the 10-cup mark. 

Cover. Make sure the vent is on "seal." Press "soup" button. Increase time to 30 minutes. Allow to rest 30-40 minutes before "venting" and removing the cover. The pressure button is usually down by then.

Kielbasa Soup with Potatoes, Cabbbage and Sauerkraut

Don't forget the spoonful of sour cream!

Not to be morbid, but, if I had the opportune chance to choose the month I would die, it would be my all-time favorite: November. It is what I call an "in-between" month, the transition from one season into another: autumn into winter. In the North, leaves have dropped. In the upper South, they are still sticking around, some with color. The common denominators are  the beautiful, low slant of the sun's rays with long, long shadows. And, on mostly-wonderful, gray, damp and sun-less days, no shadows at all. The latter are my favorite. With a bit of fog thrown in. On such days, Nature whispers. It nudges one with cello notes toward warmth: flannel and fleece ... the first fire stoked in the fireplace ... And long-simmered, earthy soups.

Enter this soup with savory sausage flavors and earthy root veggies. Smoky paprika. Caraway ... that patchouli of seedy spices. Honestly, I absolutely loved this soup. With it, I split artisan Kaiser rolls spread with a homemade, Amish butter. Need I say more?

In fact, yes, it is to die for! Enjoy.

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First, some notes: 

Do not omit the sauerkraut, even if you think you dislike it. You will not be using a lot. Be sure to squeeze out the juice and, if strong-tasting, give it a slight rinse under cold water before the squeeze.  I really like Snow Floss fresh kraut in the plastic bag. Fresh kraut is usually found with sausages in the meat department.

Second: Use a good Kielbasa. I am fortunate enough to have access to a locally-made sausage that tastes like the real deal. Boar's Head also makes a great stand-by.

Use the smallest new potatoes you can find. Mine were less that 1.5 inches. If large, simply slice into chunks. 

Caraway seed and cabbage is a perfect marriage. Don't admit.

If not using fat back, you could use a bit of bacon, or neither; instead, just use a bit of olive oil to brown/sweat the onions/sausage mixture.

I use Campbell's chicken stock and beef broth. Of course, homemade is even better.

• 1.5 - 2 lbs. smoked, artisan Kielbasa, sliced into rings and some into quarters
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced, and the rings cut into half-moons/quarters
• 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon spicy smoked paprika (do not omit)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, slightly crushed (do not omit)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup sliced fresh carrots, preferably the kind with green tops attached
• 3/4 - 1 cup teeny-tiny baby red/yellow new potatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 +  cup fresh sauerkraut, slightly squeezed to get rid of excess juice (do not omit)
• 1 medium head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
• 1, 10-3/4 ounce can chicken stock
• 1, 10-3/4 ounce can beef broth
• 3, 10-3/4 ounce cans of water
• 3-4 slices fat-back, rinsed (optional)
• Sour cream for garnish

In a 2-3 quart stock pot (mine has an 8-inch diameter) over medium heat, add the fatback/bacon and cook until it begins to render fat. You are not cooking it to the crispy stage. Add sausage and onion. Stir for several minutes just until the sausage begins to show some brown. Add sliced garlic, paprika, caraway.  Stir until fragrant. Add carrots and potatoes. Coat with seasoning mixture. Add chicken stock, beef broth and water. Bring to a simmer. Add cabbage and sauerkraut. Mix. Add salt and pepper. Taste and re-season if necessary. Cover. Bring to a slow boil then reduce heat to just a simmer and cook for about 1 hour or more until cabbage is tender. Serve with a dark rye bread and, if desired, garnish with sour cream.

Potato-Sausage-Bean Soup with Caraway and Horseradish

By now, dear readers, you can tell the kind of weather we are having here in normally-warm, sunny North Carolina by the many soup recipes I have been posting (and here is yet another!).

We are having unusual, cool, foggy mornings. Wonderful! Damp, rainy, dark afternoons followed by cool evenings. Wonderful! To my friends, I define this forecast as "Michigan weather." They chuckle. And do not approve. Some even call it "depressing."

But ... this weather forces me to wax nostalgic for all things Midwestern. I am not depressed by my roots. Instead, I am inspired. And, in this recipe, the flavorful roots go all the way back to Russia and Lithuania ...

... In particular, the humble potato. Lately, I'm stuck on potato-based soups swimming in savory, smoky, creamy broths. These recipes are all about the out-of-doors and campfires -- without the camping. Indoor hearths with amber embers. Never mind stoves worth thousands of dollars ...

Here, I use store-bought Polish Kielbasa and seasoned butter beans. Oh, seasoned butter beans, where have you been all my life? Yes, I admit it. Sometimes I open a tin ... and eat them cold right out of the can. Am I a hobo? Perhaps. But who could not love that word: HOBO.? A poem in and of itself. And, so, I call them HOBO beans in honor of that glorious class of Americans who rode the rails in the 1930's. Think Pete Seeger ... 

I'm not sure if seasoned, butter beans are a Southern phenomenon. I hope not, for all the world deserves these little gems. Each soft bean tastes like the best ham-and-bean soup you've ever savored. If you do not have access, use cannelloni beans. But do not omit the tiny bit of caraway seed, horseradish or smoked cheddar. Feel free to sub the spinach for kale or escarole.

• 8 oz. or 1 3/4 cup "onion base" a combination of leek, shallot, yellow onion
• 8 oz. or 2.5-3 cups rough-chopped white button mushrooms
• 14-16 oz. skinned, chopped, Russet potatoes, about 2 cups
• 10-12 oz. smoked sausage, about 1 1/2 cups, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Red pepper flakes ... a pinch or two
• 1, 14.5 oz. can chicken stock, reduced salt
• 1, 14.5 oz. can beef stock, reduced salt
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup dry, white wine
• 1, 14.5 oz. can seasoned butter beans, drained
• 2-3 handfulls chopped greens, such as spinach, kale, escarole ...
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed dry thyme leaves
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed, crushed
• 1, 5 ounce-can evaporated milk
• 1/2  cup lightly packed shredded, smoked cheddar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Refrigerated, fresh horseradish
• Sour cream
• Additional smoked sausage for garnish

In a dutch oven or soup pot, add your onion mixture and mushrooms with a bit of olive oil and sweat over medium heat just until soft. Remove from pan.

Put a bit more olive oil in the pan. Add diced sausage and fry over medium heat. When the fat begins to render, add the smoked paprika and a bit of red pepper flakes. Add the white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken and beef stocks. Bring to a simmer. Add your onion and mushroom mixture, drained seasoned butter beans, potatoes, thyme, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and gently cook for about 15 - 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat. Mix in the evaporated milk and smoked cheddar. Stir until cheese melts. Taste for salt and pepper. Add the lesser amount of caraway. Stir. Taste again and re-season if necessary. Add the chopped greens. Mix through and place back on low heat until greens are wilted.

To serve, thinly slice a few pieces of sausage to arrange on top. Place a teaspoon of horseradish in the center and a dollop of sour cream. Shave a bit more cheese on top. Enjoy. 

The second day, I reheated a bowl and made a Muenster cheese-and-ham grilled sandwich. I snipped
a bit fresh chives, too.

To slice your potatoes: first, slice lengthwise in half. Slice each half lengthwise again into three strips. Then cut into chunks crosswise.

Potato Soup with Leeks, Mushrooms and Dill

Insanely delicious!

I woke up in the middle of the night and, at three in the morning I just couldn't stand it any longer. I methodically got out of bed and  found myself standing in front of the opened refrigerator door. I needed--craved--just one more tiny bowl of this amazing soup! Light, yet intense, with a perfect blend of flavors, every spoonful is savored. Even cold. You want more. And then you lick the bowl clean!

Yes, it's a lot of chopping. But, trust me, it's worth it! And do not, under any circumstances, sub onions for the leeks--NO NO NO! Feel free to mix in cream or sour cream at the end for a traditional "potage," but I found the flavorings perfect, not wanting them compromised in any way. 

• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only for 2 cups finely chopped
• 2 pounds red potatoes (about 8 medium) diced, for 4 cups
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound mushrooms, chopped. If you don't have quite one pound then use:
• 1, 4-oz. can/jar mushrooms, drained, reserve the juice (optional, see note below)
• 6 cups chicken stock (canned is fine) or bone broth**, including the mushroom juice
• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (use less to begin with)
• 2-3 teaspoons dried dill weed
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• Pepper, freshly ground, to taste
• Butter and olive oil

Slice the leeks lengthwise and then slice each half again lengthwise. Finely chop. Peel carrots and chop. Slice and chop mushrooms, discarding stems if necessary. Peel potatoes. Slice into about 3/4-inch rounds and then slice each round into fourths or sixths. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven, add about 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil. When melted, add fresh mushrooms, a bit of salt and pepper and the dried thyme. Saute until soft and juicy, adding more butter if necessary. Remove to a small bowl and add in canned, drained mushrooms, if using.

In same pan, add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. When melted, add the leeks and carrots and cook for about five-eight minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add two teaspoons dried dill weed and minced garlic. Stir just until fragrant. 

Add chicken stock and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer. Add diced potatoes. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until potatoes are soft but still hold together. Add mushrooms. Stir. Re-cover and simmer about 15 minutes.

Taste for seasonings adding salt, pepper, thyme, and dill if needed. Using the back of a slotted spoon, begin mashing about half of the potatoes against the side of the pan. This will thicken the soup. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for about 30 minutes. Stir before serving. Sometimes I add a tablespoon or two of butter.

If desired, serve in individual bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill.

Lock the refrigerator door before going to bed.



Notes: If I don't quite have 1 lb. of mushrooms, I'll add the canned mushrooms.

** I recommend College Inn Bone Broth. Of course, home made is best ...

Kreplach

Tender egg-pasta enclose savory ground meat simply and peasantly spiced with onion, garlic and parsley. Boiled, they are served in a butter sauce, heavily salted and peppered, with a side of boiled cabbage.

It has been a matter of speculation most of my life about any "jewish heritage" on my mother's side of the family. Growing up, I was often asked if I were Jewish as was my younger sister. I think it's my swarthy complexion and sexy lips! Or so I was told.

There are family stories of my great, great grandfather talking with "brethern" on synogogue steps in Chicago. And, somewhere along the way,  there is someone's birth certificate with the surname of "Jacobs."

Be that as it may, and even though we were raised devout Catholics, it just may be my family's culinary heritage that provides the most telling evidence. We grew up on kreplach and latkes; but, we called them "dumplings" and "potato pancakes." Those two words alone are enough to send any family member into a salivating swoon, regardless of religious affiliation. Or pouty lips.

Kreplach can be folded in many ways.
This is my preferred way. Hold the dumpling
in your left hand. Pinch and fold the ends all the way around.

Kreplach is labor intensive. I won't lie about that. But if you have an extra pair of hands or two, the work goes quickly. And they freeze beautifully, so always make extra.

A food processor makes easy work of preparing the dough. My grandmother used to heap the flour on the counter and make a well in the center for the eggs and water. It was always quite a mess, and clean up was horrible, which included each and every finger! With the processor, you actually get a better dough, I think. And you can easily prepare the meat the night before, which I often do to give it better flavor.

A food processor or mini-prep simplifies dough-making.

Basic Kreplach Dough Recipe

• Basic Dough/Noodle Recipe:
• 1 cup flour
• 2 egg yolks (My Grandma used one whole egg.)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil*
• 1/4 cup tepid water + a bit more if needed

Egg yolks make for a richer dough!

Place flour and salt in processor. Pulse. Add egg yolks and pulse until fine. Add olive oil and pulse. With motor running and lid on, dribble the tepid water through the holes in the lid of the processor. When dough leaves the sides of the processor, it is done. You may need to add a tablespoon or more of water, but always add just a dribble at a time.

Remove to a lightly-floured surface and knead just a few times. If the dough seems a bit wet, knead in a bit more flour. (It's better to have the dough too wet than too dry.)

This dough is a bit too dry and needs just a dribble or two more of water.

This dough is a tad too wet, but okay.
It just needs to be kneaded on a floured surface a few times and it will be fine.

Cover dough with a piece of plastic wrap, towel, or bowl and let rest for 30 minutes. Do not attempt to roll out the dough until it has rested. Do not use paper towel, waxed paper or tinfoil to cover dough as they will end up sticking to the dough.

After 30 minutes, the dough will be soft and pliable. Flour a surface and begin rolling out the dough into a circle. I go thin. Think noodle. Using a 3-inch cutter, begin cutting out circles. Save the scraps of dough and re-roll. You should end up with about 20 circles.

I used an English antique biscuit cutter.
My grandmother used a glass dipped in flour.
 (I was bad and used 3 egg yolks in this dough--you can see the tinge of yellow.)

Meat Filling:

• 8 ounces (1/2 lb.) finely ground chuck
• 1/4 cup fresh, finely-cut curly parsley
• 2-4 tablespoons finely diced yellow onion
• 1-2 small garlic cloves, finely diced--smashed to a paste is even better
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together. It's important to have a fine dice on the onion since the meatballs are rather small. I often cheat and just add dried onion flakes, garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Form into small "meatballs." You are looking for about 20.

While I'm waiting for the dough to rest, I make the meatballs.

Stuffing can be ground beef, chicken, turkey, even salmon.
As you can see, the meatballs are not large
and should fit inside a tablespoon.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil as you fill dumplings.

Place one meatball off center in one of your cut circles of dough being careful to place it on the opposite side that has been floured. Fold over and seal edges. Place on a floured surface until done. Leftover meat can simply be added to the pot of boiling water along with scraps of leftover dough.

I prefer a ruffled or roped edge.

Carefully place the kreplach in the boiling water being careful not to overcrowd too much. Stir once so none stick to bottom of pan. Place on lid and return to the boil, keeping an eye on the pot so it doesn't boil over. Boil for about ten minutes. You know they will be done when the center puffs up from steam ( a reason to keep the lid on, not off).

Using a slotted spoon, remove to a large bowl. Ladle in a bit of the water and several tablespoons of butter. Add salt and pepper. Cover with a plate and allow to sit for about five minutes or so.

Traditionally, my family always served this with a side of boiled cabbage. Remember, pasta can take a lot of salt. I like to serve with a side of sour cream.

For added flavor, add a bit of onion to your cabbage when you boil it.

NOTES

*My grandmother never used olive oil in her dough, but it makes for a much more tender dough. When I told her I added it, she grabbed me by the arm and exclaimed, "You improved it!"

TO FREEZE: place uncooked dumplings on a baking sheet and place in freezer. When frozen, put into plastic bags. To cook, simply put frozen into boiling water and cook per above instructions, adding about 5 minutes or so.

TO ADD TO SOUP: These are wonderful added to chicken or turkey soup. I never cook them in the soup, though, since the raw dough and flour compromises the taste of the stock. Cook separately in a pot of water and then add to soup.

If you are making several batches of kreplach, a latex glove helps. Mound the meat in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze out each meatball. It makes fast work of it.

I always intend to fry leftover kreplach, but there never are any. I would like to sautee them in a sage/butter sauce.

Kreplach is peasant food at its finest. And, it's economical.

Hi, Grandma! Look at that pose . . .