This recipe for Beef & Sauerkraut Casserole (or "Tushena Kapusta," as it was given to me) is an homage to a wonderful Ukrainian lady named Oksana, who was kind enough to make it for us. While her methods spoke of the "old country," it was easy enough to update and make in my own fashion. Apparently, many of the foods that came down to me from the paternal side of my family, are similar, if not identical to much of the food in the Ukraine (and most of that whole large region).
 |
| Beef and Sauerkraut Casserole or Tushena Kapusta |
My paternal grandparents came over to the U.S. from what was Yugoslavia in the very early 1900s. The town they came from is in what is today northern Serbia, in Vojvodina. It is a very small town named Kucur, northwest-ish of Novi Sad, and not found on many maps. That whole area was overrun so many times, changing "ownership," and the languages overlapped as well as food style.
This dish is made with beef, sauerkraut and cabbage. Apparently it can be made with all sauerkraut and no fresh cabbage, or all fresh cabbage and no sauerkraut. However it is made, it comes out the most delicious comfort food. Just set out some good bread and butter to accompany, and there you have it: one fine meal. That said, as I looked up Tushena Kapusta recipes out of curiosity, I found that there is every variation imaginable for the meat (beef, pork, chicken, duck, Kielbasa sausage), and some are meatless. The remaining ingredients are the same, allowing for slight differences in amounts, and sometimes people add a touch of sour cream.
Oksana worked with no recipe, of course, and gauged everything by eye. When I set about recreating for myself what she did, I wrote down everything I did and made note of all the amounts, so I could share it here. While seasoning the meat, she asked for a few different dried herbs, in an effort to replicate a seasoning mix she used back home. I chose to replace her herbs with my Beef & Pork Seasoning, as it had some of the items she used, plus those flavors go excellently with beef and pork. I added dried and reconstituted shiitake mushrooms, though I do not believe she used mushrooms in her dish. She did many things two different ways while making her recipe, things I could see no earthly reason for doing. These I changed to make things easier, less time-consuming.
All in all, the recipe came out close enough to hers that I have no qualms about posting, revised though it is. To me, it tastes nearly identical. For certain, it is simply delicious, mouthwatering, comfort food.
Serves 4 to 6
4 cups / 10 ounces thinly sliced green cabbage
½ teaspoon salt
-----
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
-----
1½ cups shredded (large holed grater) carrot, divided
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips about 1½-inches long
1 (32 ounce) jar sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
-----
2 slices (thick-slice) bacon, or 3 if thin sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced then quarter the round slices
¼ teaspoon salt
-----
1 pound beef stew meat, in ¾-inch cubes
1½ teaspoons Beef & Pork Seasoning or Montreal Steak Seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated pepper
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 ounces tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Set the prepared cabbage into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the ½-teaspoon salt and mix with hands, squeezing and rubbing the cabbage vigorously, or pound with the flat part of a meat tenderizing mallet. This breaks down cell walls in the cabbage and helps release liquid. This dish is a dry style casserole. Set the cabbage aside to release more liquids for at least 15 minutes.
Place the dry shiitake mushrooms into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Use a plate to help keep them submerged and set aside while preparing the rest of the dish.
Drain the sauerkraut and rinse under running water, then set to drain well.
Set the cubed beef into a bowl and sprinkle with the Beef & Pork Seasoning, ½-teaspoon salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Set aside.
Cut the bacon slices into ¼-inch bits and place in a large skillet or simply use the Dutch oven to be used to bake the casserole. Cook the bacon until crisp, then set the bacon onto paper toweling to drain and set aside. In the resultant bacon grease, fry the onion with the ¼-teaspoon of salt until tender, then add in half the shredded carrot and cook just until softened.
Drain the cabbage well, squeezing to extract moisture, and return to the mixing bowl. Add in the fried onion and carrot mixture (reserving any remaining bacon grease in the pan) with the remaining raw carrots, red bell pepper and drained sauerkraut. Drain the mushrooms, remove hard stems, then slice the mushrooms and add to the mixing bowl. Add in the brown sugar, tomato paste and paprika and stir well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the same skillet, adding more oil only if needed, quickly sear a few of the meat pieces at a time, never over-crowding the pan, until browned, then place the pieces of meat into the mixing bowl with the vegetables as they are browned. Once all the meat is browned, stir all the ingredients well (photo at left), then turn into an oven-safe casserole or Dutch oven with lid, slip in the bay leaves, submerging into the mixture. Cover the casserole and bake the casserole for 30 to 45 minutes, checking to ensure it is not scorching on the bottom. Add hot water only if absolutely needed to prevent burning.
Serve this casserole with mashed potatoes or rice and with bread and butter on the side.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
This dish is made with beef, sauerkraut and cabbage. Apparently it can be made with all sauerkraut and no fresh cabbage, or all fresh cabbage and no sauerkraut. However it is made, it comes out the most delicious comfort food. Just set out some good bread and butter to accompany, and there you have it: one fine meal. That said, as I looked up Tushena Kapusta recipes out of curiosity, I found that there is every variation imaginable for the meat (beef, pork, chicken, duck, Kielbasa sausage), and some are meatless. The remaining ingredients are the same, allowing for slight differences in amounts, and sometimes people add a touch of sour cream.
 |
| Beef and Sauerkraut Casserole or Tushena Kapusta |
All in all, the recipe came out close enough to hers that I have no qualms about posting, revised though it is. To me, it tastes nearly identical. For certain, it is simply delicious, mouthwatering, comfort food.
Beef & Sauerkraut Casserole
(Tushena Kapusta) |
| Beef and Sauerkraut Casserole or Tushena Kapusta |
Serves 4 to 6
4 cups / 10 ounces thinly sliced green cabbage
½ teaspoon salt
-----
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
-----
1½ cups shredded (large holed grater) carrot, divided
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips about 1½-inches long
1 (32 ounce) jar sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
-----
2 slices (thick-slice) bacon, or 3 if thin sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced then quarter the round slices
¼ teaspoon salt
-----
1 pound beef stew meat, in ¾-inch cubes
1½ teaspoons Beef & Pork Seasoning or Montreal Steak Seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated pepper
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 ounces tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Set the prepared cabbage into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the ½-teaspoon salt and mix with hands, squeezing and rubbing the cabbage vigorously, or pound with the flat part of a meat tenderizing mallet. This breaks down cell walls in the cabbage and helps release liquid. This dish is a dry style casserole. Set the cabbage aside to release more liquids for at least 15 minutes.
Place the dry shiitake mushrooms into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Use a plate to help keep them submerged and set aside while preparing the rest of the dish.
Drain the sauerkraut and rinse under running water, then set to drain well.
Set the cubed beef into a bowl and sprinkle with the Beef & Pork Seasoning, ½-teaspoon salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Set aside.
Cut the bacon slices into ¼-inch bits and place in a large skillet or simply use the Dutch oven to be used to bake the casserole. Cook the bacon until crisp, then set the bacon onto paper toweling to drain and set aside. In the resultant bacon grease, fry the onion with the ¼-teaspoon of salt until tender, then add in half the shredded carrot and cook just until softened.
 |
| Everything mixed together in bowl |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the same skillet, adding more oil only if needed, quickly sear a few of the meat pieces at a time, never over-crowding the pan, until browned, then place the pieces of meat into the mixing bowl with the vegetables as they are browned. Once all the meat is browned, stir all the ingredients well (photo at left), then turn into an oven-safe casserole or Dutch oven with lid, slip in the bay leaves, submerging into the mixture. Cover the casserole and bake the casserole for 30 to 45 minutes, checking to ensure it is not scorching on the bottom. Add hot water only if absolutely needed to prevent burning.
Serve this casserole with mashed potatoes or rice and with bread and butter on the side.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
No comments:
Post a Comment