The story behind the recipe
Parzybroda smells of cabbage, potatoes, and delicate smoked meat. It is not just another sauerkraut soup: here we use fresh savoy cabbage, whose crinkled leaves remain noticeable after cooking. Some potatoes can be mashed to thicken the broth without flour, but the soup should still be easy to scoop with a spoon.
Under the name parzybroda, various regional dishes exist, from soup to a thicker combination of cabbage and potatoes. The Ministry of Agriculture's entry regarding Greater Poland describes a soup based on savoy cabbage and potatoes. Our variant refers to this combination, adding a simple garnish of bacon and dill. We do not attribute the entire tradition to one region and do not present dill as a mandatory ingredient in all variants.
This is a good meal for a cooler day, especially with a slice of bread. The recipe works well organizationally in one pot: you chop the vegetables beforehand and then add them in the order based on their cooking times. Choose a pot with a capacity of at least 4 liters.
Ingredients
Ingredients
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600 g savoy cabbage (weight after removing the core and damaged leaves)
Abroad: savoy cabbage; Wirsing - 600 g potatoes (weight after peeling; diced about 2 cm)
- 120 g carrot (small dice or half-moons)
- 150 g onion (finely diced)
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120 g smoked bacon (finely chopped)
Abroad: smoked bacon; Räucherspeck - 1500 ml vegetable broth (preferably low-salt; plus if needed)
- 1 pc bay leaf
- 2 pcs allspice
- ¼ tsp (1.3 ml) caraway (optional)
- 15 g dill (chopped)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Method, step by step
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Remove the damaged outer leaves and the hard core from the cabbage. Rinse the remaining leaves, drain, and cut into strips about 1–2 cm wide; shorten any very long strips. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes, the carrot into small half-moons, and the onion finely. Set the vegetables aside separately so you can add them in stages.
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In a pot with a thick bottom, heat the bacon over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Once it renders some fat, add the onion and sauté together for 4–5 minutes, stirring. The onion should soften and slightly golden. If the bacon is very lean, add a teaspoon of oil instead of increasing the heat.
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Pour in 1.5 liters of broth, add the potatoes, carrot, bay leaf, allspice, and optionally caraway. Bring to a boil. Cook on low heat for about 8 minutes; the potatoes should just begin to soften, as they will continue cooking with the cabbage.
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Add the chopped cabbage in batches if it initially sticks out above the liquid. Gently stir, cover the pot with a small gap, and cook for 15–20 minutes at a gentle simmer. The cabbage will reduce in volume after heating; do not immediately add a lot of water just because it doesn't fit under the surface at first.
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Check the largest piece of potato and the thicker part of the leaf. The vegetables should be tender but not completely disintegrate. If the cabbage is still hard, cook a few minutes longer. If the liquid starts to run low, add a bit of hot broth or water to prevent the bottom of the pot from burning.
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Remove the bay leaf and allspice. For a thicker consistency, mash 3–4 pieces of potato against the pot's wall and mix with the broth. Leave the remaining potatoes and cabbage in pieces. In this variant, we do not add flour, cream, or milk.
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Add the chopped dill and freshly ground pepper. Taste the broth and only then add salt if needed. Heat for about another minute on low heat. In the photo, you can see the soup after adding the dill; fresh herbs should not boil for long.
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Set the pot aside for 5 minutes off the heat. Distribute the vegetables and bacon into bowls, pour in the broth, and serve the warm parzybroda. You can place bread alongside. When portioning, gather the vegetables from the bottom, as the liquid alone does not convey the hearty character of this soup.
Photos
