The ultimate Estonian comfort food.
What you need:
– half a cabbage (1-2 kg)
– 300 – 500 g of minced meat
– 1 large onion
– 4 garlic cloves (optional, they make the cabbage spicier, but leaving them out makes the taste milder)
– 2 bay leaves
– 400 ml water
– salt, pepper and parsley to taste
– teaspoon of oil for frying
How to make:
Cut onion and garlic. Roughly chop up the cabbage into pieces small enough to eat with a spoon afterwards. Heat the oil in a large pot, put onion and garlic inside for a minute. If you use dried parsley, now is the time to use it. Add the minced meat and cook it until the juices are starting to come out and the meat is almost, but not quite done. Throw the shredded cabbage inside, add water and bay leaves. Then put a lid on top, let the mixture start cooking and then let it simmer for an hour or until the cabbage is soft enough for your taste. Add salt and pepper and enjoy! This one goes especially well with boiled potatoes.
How much does it cost:
This one makes a huge amount of food. If you go for half a kilogram of minced meat, this would be around 2,5 euros, cabbage costs around 60 cents, and if you have some left from your harvest, you won’t pay anything. In total this won’t be more than 3-4 euros.
This is a versatile one: you can add potatoes and carrots into the mix, triple or quadruple the amount of water and you have a huge pot of soup in your hands.