Savoy Cabbage Stew with Mushrooms and Sour Cream

Back in the late 70’s when other kids were throwing a tantrum to convince their parents to buy them candy, I’d do the same - but not to get candy. Instead, I wanted smetana and rye bread! The advantage of this craving was that I’d get what I want, so I normally left the supermarket with a can of smetana in one hand, a rye-bread in the other. Happy life!

Smetana, or sour cream still is one of my favourite things. In this recipe, it softens nicely the taste of cabbage. The recipe is for two very hungry people or three reasonably hungry ones. And the costs are next to nothing, especially if you leave the mushrooms out (or pick mushrooms yourself!). I ended up paying 4,20 € for everything (I already had molasses, onion, rice, and oil).

You need:

• 400g savoy cabbage (or white cabbage)


• 100g mushrooms (I used shiitake)


• 1 medium-sized onion


• 100g (soy) sour cream (smetana, schmand)


• 1 Tbsp molasses


• 100ml rice


• 200ml water


• 2 Tbsp oil for frying


• salt to taste (I used one heaped tsp)

First, bring 200ml water to the boil in a small pan. Add rice and cook until tender, or about 10 minutes. In the meantime, chop the onion and sauté it in a large pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add chopped (savoy) cabbage and mushrooms. Continue frying them over low heat until cabbage is tender, or some 20 minutes. Add water if necessary. Now, add salt, molasses, sour cream, and the cooked rice, and stir until well combined.

Place the stew in an oven pan (preferably one that has a lid). Cook in a preheated oven (200 C) with the lid for about 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 175 C, remove the lid, and cook until pale golden.

This dish would traditionally be served with Russian-style pickles and lingonberries, but I couldn’t find neither of them. So I served it with dill and fresh cucumbers instead!