Lazy Shchi: How to Quickly Prepare the Perfect Winter Soup 0 5

First, it is necessary to cook a quality broth — rich, clear, and made from bones. Then, the cabbage should be stewed separately. After that, we prepare a sauté of onions and carrots. All ingredients are gathered in one pot and continue cooking. However, it is worth remembering that the tastiest shchi are made the next day after cooking.

In traditional Russian cuisine, there was an interesting secret: freshly made shchi were frozen for the winter, and when the desire to eat arose, a piece was broken off from the frozen shchi and thawed. Such shchi, after thawing, turned out to be especially rich and aromatic. This method was also used for travel — shchi were taken along in frozen form.

However, in our time, such practices no longer exist: shchi simply cool down at room temperature and are then placed in the refrigerator overnight.

The cooking process is not too complicated, but it requires prior planning. It will not be possible to quickly prepare such a soup for lunch.

Nevertheless, the process can be simplified by making lazy shchi. They will also be tasty and hearty.

Main Principles of Lazy Shchi

To speed up the cooking, you can do without meat. Use ready-made broth or chicken, which cooks faster than meat on the bones. You can also simply cook the soup in water, adding sautéed flour in butter for richness.

All ingredients are boiled together, and the cabbage is not stewed separately.

You can use young cabbage instead of late winter cabbage. During the winter period, imported young cabbage is available in stores, which can be distinguished by the bright green color of the leaves and the looseness of the head.

We refuse the sauté of onions and carrots, which is often added to shchi and other soups. Preparing such a sauté is one of the most labor-intensive tasks, although it certainly gives the soup a great taste. For proper preparation, the onion should be slowly stewed, ensuring it does not burn, and the carrot should also be fried for a long time over low heat. The onion should become golden and transparent, and the carrot should be soft. If it burns, the soup will be spoiled, and you will have to start over.

We cook shchi in a slow cooker or oven at low temperature. The soup cooks for quite a long time but requires minimal involvement from the hostess. You just need to put all the ingredients in the pot.

Lazy Shchi with Meat

500 g of beef with bones
3 potatoes
½ head of white winter cabbage
2 bay leaves
several black peppercorns
salt
1-2 medium carrots
1 onion

Step 1. Rinse the meat, cover it with cold water, place it over medium heat, and bring it to a boil. Cook in a pot with a thick bottom, preferably one that can later be placed in the oven. A goose pot can be used.

Step 2. Skim off the foam several times.

Step 3. While the meat is cooking, peel the potatoes, carrots, and remove the outer skin from the onion.

Step 4. Cut the carrots into rounds, and the potatoes into sticks.

Step 5. Slice the cabbage into strips about 3-5 mm wide (slightly larger than usual for shchi).

Step 6. Add the potatoes and cabbage to the meat, place the onion and carrot in the broth. Add black pepper, bay leaf, and a little salt.

Step 7. Place in a preheated oven at 150 degrees and leave for 2 hours. A slow cooker can also be used, setting the "Stewing" or "Slow Cooking" mode for 1.5-2 hours.

Step 8. When the soup is ready, add salt to taste and let it sit for 10 minutes. After that, it can be served at the table.