Ukrainian Kapusniak (Fresh Cabbage Soup)

It's mid-March and though we've had pretty nice Spring weather lately, we still get the occasional storm that snows us under for a few days. This past weekend was one of those storms and we had about 8" of snow in a day. Of course, we'd just put away the heavy leather jackets we wear in the winter, the snow shovel and salt! Isn't that always the way?

Naturally, it was a night to have soup. We had acquired a bunch of green cabbage on sale at the local grocery but it needed to be used fairly quickly so it didn't go bad. I wanted something easy to make, filling and satisfying, then remembered this recipe I'd found when researching a question for someone. It was perfect for a cold, snowy night.

My recipe below was adapted from one of the Ukrainian recipes on Wikibooks but honestly could be said to be from any of the countries in Eastern Europe. Cabbage soups are quite common there and I've had variations on this theme in both Poland and Latvia. Often, this soup incorporates sauerkraut, as fresh cabbage is obviously not available year-round.

One area where I deviated was in my use of spices. Traditionally, as with many dishes from Eastern Europe, dill is the spice of choice. However, for all that my husband is Latvian, he really does not like dill that much (I believe a few meals that were overwhelmed with dill rather put him off of this herb unless carefully used and balanced). I had come across a bunch of fresh thyme at a market last week and, unable to resist, snatched up a bunch and cackled wildly (ahem, perhaps not too loudly). Letting fresh thyme, particularly thyme that looked as if it had just been snipped from a local greenhouse, go to waste would be a cardinal sin. The fact that I love fresh thyme might also factor in!

I've found that I really love cabbage soups. The cabbage becomes so tender and tasty! If possible, use Spanish smoked paprika rather than regular. The smokiness really adds to the soup's flavor.