Slovak Kapustnica

Pour 300 ml of hot water over the dried mushrooms and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, chop them, and strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve.

Put the smoked ribs into a large pot, pour in 1.5 l of meat stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, skimming off the foam.

Add the sauerkraut, the mushroom soaking liquid, the chopped mushrooms, bay leaves, allspice, black pepper and caraway seeds. Cover with a lid and cook for another 30 minutes.

Finely chop the onion and sauté in oil until translucent. Add the minced garlic and sweet paprika, stir and heat through for 30 seconds, taking care not to let the paprika burn.

Transfer the sautéed mixture into the pot, add the peeled potatoes cut into cubes, and the smoked sausage sliced into rounds. Cook for 20–25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the ribs, take the meat off the bones, cut it up and return it to the soup. Remove the bay leaves and peppercorns.

Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, simmer for another 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let the kapustnica rest for 10 minutes.

Serve hot, topping each portion with sour cream.