Shchi remastered (with Middle-Eastern Meatballs)

October 12, 2014 by Soup Guru 7 Comments

Shchi with Meatballs

Shchi with Meatballs

I can´t believe that 10 months have gone away since I started this blog! 60 posts later, it’s time to start revisiting some of my favourite recipes, to get creative and add a different twist. Shchi, the classic Russian cabbage soup was one of my first posts and definitely among my favourites! Now that autumn is finally here, some days ago I was really feeling like eating Shchi again, I haven’t cooked it since the first post! But this time, I added some Middle-Eastern style meatballs, and the fusion turned out amazingly well!

I slightly varied the Shchi recipe and the meatballs are of my creation, however you’ll notice a clear Middle-Esatern influence: I prepared them with bulgur, inspired by the traditional Kebbeh, and it just gave them the perfect texture! I think I’ll always use bulgur from now on instead of bread crumbs or flour. A pinch of cinnamon, among other typical spices, is a little secret I’ve been applying to my meatballs since I first saw the delightful movie “A Touch of Spice” (2003), which I highly recommend by the way, every foodie should watch it!

Would you like to try it? It’s a great healthy complete meal to warm up your evenings! and I made Yakisoba with the remaining cabbage, yummy!

Shchi remastered (with Middle-Eastern Meatballs)

• Servings: 4
• Time: 1
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients

For the soup:

• a dash of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/2 small cabbage head, shredded
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tin diced tomatoes
• 1 litre beef stock
• 1/2 cup dried mushrooms of choice
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• dried or fresh dill to garnish
• a dollop of low-fat Greek yogurt to serve

For the meatballs:

• 400 g minced beef
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• a pinch of cinnamon powder
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp of bulgur

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in the pressure cooking pot* and sauté the garlic, onion and carrot over medium heat until soft.
2. Add the cabbage, a pinch of salt and the tomato paste, stir to combine and stir-fry a few minutes.
3. Stir in the diced tomatoes along with its juice, pour the stock and incorporate the mushrooms and bay leaves, stir to mix.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil.
5. In the meantime, in a bowl mix the minced beef with the spices, salt, egg and bulgur using your hands until a thick paste is formed .
6. Make the meatballs and add them to the soup (the mixture yielded 12 meatballs of ca. 4 cm diameter).
7. Cover and pressure cook* for around ten minutes.
8. Serve, sprinkle with dill, add a dollop of yogurt and enjoy!

*Always follow your pressure cooker instructions and manage it with due care.

Shchi with Meatballs