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Kibbutz Shomrat’s Drunk’s Soup

by
Dana Kessler
March 21, 2021
Kibbutz Shomrat’s Drunk’s Soup

Next month’s Paris Cookbook Fair will draw notable chefs and high-profile foodies from around the world for three days of kitchen demonstrations, food tastings, and author appearances, all taking place next to the Louvre starting Feb. 22. Israeli authors Assi Haim and Ofer Vardi will be there, too, talking about a most unlikely and unglamorous, low-profile culinary niche: kibbutz food.

Despite the popular conception in Israel that kibbutz food—to put it bluntly—sucks, Haim and Vardi’s Hederochel (Communal Dining), a Hebrew-language collection of recipes and stories from the heyday of the kibbutz, has been on Israel’s best-seller list since Vardi’s independent publishing house LunchBox put it out in September.

Featured in: Kibbutz Cuisine Gets Its Due

Recipe by: Assi Haim and Ofer Vardi

Ingredients

  • 1.5cans of sauerkraut (approx. 28 oz.)
  • 2tablespoons oil
  • 2chopped onions
  • 5crushed garlic cloves
  • 10oz kabanos sausage or smoked meat, thinly sliced
  • Paprika
  • Grated black pepper
  • 2liters water
  • 1tablespoon chicken bouillon
  • 2tablespoons vinegar
Yield: Makes six servings

Preparation

  • Step 1

    Rinse the sauerkraut, to make it less salty.

  • Step 2

    Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the chopped onions until golden. Add the crushed garlic and stir. Add the kabanos sausage/smoked meat and the sauerkraut. Season to taste with paprika and black pepper.

  • Step 3

    Cover with water (about four fingers above the sauerkraut). Melt the chicken bouillon in a glass of water and add it to the pot. (The water and chicken bouillon can be replaced with 2 liters of chicken stock. In this case, salt the soup to your liking.)

  • Step 4

    Cook for approx. 40 minutes until the meat is soft.

  • Step 5

    Add the vinegar and adjust seasoning if needed.

  • NOTE: From Hederochel (Communal Dining), by Assi Haim and Ofer Vardi