Westport Farmers' Mkt Cabbage Recipe Contest Winner

With 15 entries and some stiff competition, the judges Nancy Roper and Bill Taibe ate their way through traditional and not so traditional cabbage dishes. After careful consideration and much deliberation, a winner was announced with two dishes tied for second place. 

Drumroll.....Chef Selma Miriam and Noel Furie, owners of Bloodroot Vegetarian Restaurant, were winners with their S'chee (Russian cabbagesoup) recipe. Their soup was delicious topped with a dollop of sour cream and pinch of dill. The women of Bloodroot have been supporting local and organic before these terms were even considered part of our daily lingo. Check out their winning recipe below:

S'chee Recipe (Winner) Bloodroot Vegetarian Restaurant

1. Prepare vegetable broth: Preheat the oven to 500 F In a roasting pan place 1 large peeled and quartered onion, 2 carrots, 1 parsnip and 1 white turnip. Drizzle with grape seed oil and roas, turning often, until well browned. Remove roasted vegetables to a large soup kettle. Use boiling water to deglaze roasting pan, scraping up browned bits. Add this water to soup kettle with enough additional water to cover. Cut celery tops from 1 bunch celery and add 2 bay leaves and 2 well wash leeks. Simmer at least 1 hour. Then put broth through strainer into another large soup kettle or bowl. Press down on vegetables to get as much of their juices as possible. Discard remaining pulp or give to someone who has chickens. 

2. Make soup: chop and saute in 2 tablespoons grape seed oil in frying pan: 1 cup onion, 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 cup carrots. When slightly browned, add 2 garlic cloves, crushed. Turn off fire. Rinse 1 pound sauerkraut in a colander. Squeeze dry and coarsely chop. Add to fry pan and saute till kraute starts to brown. adding more oil if necessary. Turn contents to frying pan into the pot of vegetable broth. 

3. Shred 1 cabbage (about 2 pounds or 2 quarts shredded) and saute it in the same frying pan, again adding oil if necessary, until cabbage is wilted. Turn into soup kettle with 28oz can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped a little with a spoon. 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1/3 to 1/2 cup tamari. Add water as necessary.

4. Simmer at least one hour more. Add juice of 1 1/2 to 2 lemon and begin to taste. Soup will likely need more water and possibly up to 1 tablespoon of salt. It should taste sweet and sour, as well as salty. Add more lemon juice or tamari, as needed. Chop one small bunch dill and add. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream.