This used to always be a meal my mother would make to give the entire family something to snack on during the day until dinner was ready, especially on those days when she would be spending 6 hours making a pot of Borscht soup.

In Russian, this meal is called Тушеная Капуста с Сосисками (Stewed Cabbage with Sausages)

This quick and simple recipe is full of flavor and sure to become a favorite in your house too.

Today, I only had 1/4 of a small cabbage head in my fridge and a craving for home, so here we are.

INGREDIENTS : (recipe below will be enough for 2-4 people)

• 1/2 a head of cabbage, sliced thin.
• 1 medium carrot, grated.
• 1 medium onion, diced.
• 2 – 4 garlic cloves, grated.
• 3 allspice berries.
• 2 bay leaves.
• 2 – 3 TB (Tablespoons) tomato paste.
• 1 – 2 kielbasa sausages (depending on size) or you can use hotdogs or any other smoked sausage you desire, sliced.
• 1 – 2 TB oil.
• Salt and pepper to taste. (roughly 1/2 tsp (teaspoon) of each)
• 1/2 cup water.

STEPS :

1. Heat your oil on medium high heat and add your sliced smoked kielbasa sausage to the pan. Brown on both sides for roughly 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside, but leave the leftover oil in the pan. If there is no leftover oil, add a little more into your pan and heat up again.
2. Add your diced onions to the warmed up pan oil. Sauté for a couple of minutes until your onion begins to turn slightly opaque/clear or browned, then add your grated carrots, bay leaves and allspice berries and mix. Sauté until onions and carrots begin to caramelize and develop a golden color.
3. Once your carrots and onion are caramelized, add your garlic and cook for only 30-60 seconds so it doesn’t burn. You can now add your sliced cabbage to the mixture and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. If your mixture seems dry, add a little bit more oil to your pan. Mix the cabbage with the existing ingredients inside your pan and sauté everything until your cabbage begins developing a nice golden color.
4. Once your cabbage has gotten a bit browned, add your tomato paste and make sure to stir it all in and allow a few minutes to caramelize as well. This will help everything develop a natural sweetness. After a couple of minutes, add your cooked smoked sausage back into the pan with the rest of the ingredients and add 1/2 cup of water. Mix and cover with a lid and allow to stew for 5 minutes.
5. After stewing, it is ready to enjoy. Remove your bay leaves and allspice berries from the mixture if you don’t want an unpleasant surprise when you bite into one of them.

Begin by browning your smoked sausage in a pan with some oil.

Brown on both sides and be careful not to burn them.

Once your sausage is browned, remove from the pan but reserve the oil in the pan and add your diced onion.

Cook until onions begin to become slightly opaque/translucent/browned.

Add your carrots, bay leaves and allspice berries and continue cooking until the carrots begin to caramelize in the pan and develop a golden brown color.

Once everything is caramelizing, add your garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds. Make sure you are constantly stirring, so that the garlic does not burn.

This is what your carrots, onions and garlic will begin looking like when they are ready for the cabbage to be added.

Add your cabbage, salt and pepper and mix. Cook until cabbage begins to develop a nice golden brown color.

Once your cabbage is browned, add your tomato paste and incorporate it fully.

Allow your tomato paste to caramelize for a few minutes.

Once the tomato paste has a few minutes to cook and caramelize with the rest of the ingredients, go ahead and add your browned smoked sausage back to the pan and mix. Then add 1/2 cup water, mix and cover with a lid and allow everything to stew for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.

Once your ingredients have had a chance to stew for 5 minutes, go ahead and turn off the heat and feel free to enjoy. Remove the bay leaves and allspice berries if you are not a “alert” eater. My husband somehow always manages to bite into a bay leaf or an allspice berries and thinks I am trying to poison him.