Zingy Sour Veggie Soup
Photo: Nico Schinco
"Growing up, a very important family tradition was making homemade sauerkraut during wintertime. Imagine a week-long process, including buying dozens of cabbages, chopping them, massaging in cups of salt, and fermenting. For the first days, the two fifty-liter barrels would take up our entire kitchen—I still remember that pungent smell. Once sour, we’d transfer the barrels to our tiny balcony to sit all winter. From there, my family would scoop handfuls and handfuls of it for dinner, make soups out of it, stir-fry it with beef or chicken, use it in cabbage rolls, or simply drink the fermented, salty brine.
This is one of the recipes my mother would make all winter long with our homemade sauerkraut: grated veggies and sauerkraut simmered in that sour, zingy brine. We’d have this for breakfast, with bread and black pepper on top. It’s hearty, comforting, and so flavorful. Don’t worry, I won’t call for a hundred liters of sauerkraut; I tailored the recipe to use just one store-bought jar."
—James Beard Award Winner® Carolina Gelen, Pass the Plate
Ingredients
For the Sour Veggie Soup
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed
- 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated (about 1 heaping cup)
- 2 medium zucchini, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1 (16-ounce) jar sauerkraut, undrained
- 1 garlic head, top cut off to expose the cloves, root attached
Ingredients
For Serving
- Chopped fresh dill or parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Crusty bread
Method
Make the sour veggie soup: In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrots, zucchini, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and chile flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste darkens, about 3 minutes.
Add all the sauerkraut from the jar, juices and all, plus 6 cups water and a big pinch of salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and lay the garlic heads, cut-side up, into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened and all the vegetables are soft, 25 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Remove the pot from the heat and remove and reserve the garlic.
To serve: Divide the soup among bowls and top with fresh herbs and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. I also like to squeeze one or two of the softened garlic cloves in each bowl before serving, but you can leave them out if you like. Serve hot with crusty bread.
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Reprinted with permission from Pass The Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes: A Cookbook by Carolina Gelen. Copyright © 2024 by Gelen Media LLC. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Nico Schinco. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.