Hangover Soup (Lithuanian)

Submitted by duonyte

"I have to admit that I have never even heard of this - I guess I just did not party enough when I was young! And the few times I did, I just might have appreciated this soup. This is a sweet-and-sour sauerkraut soup - I am looking forward to trying it once the we have a cool night. Adapted from gourmantineblog.com"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 113.39 g bacon, diced
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 29.58 ml tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf (not in recipe, but I recommend)
• 453.59 g sauerkraut
• 1419.54 ml water, see note
• 29.58-59.16 ml sugar
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• creme fraiche or sour cream

directions

1. Heat a heavy pot and start frying the bacon. Once some of the bacon fat melts off, add the onions and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onions soften.
2. Add the carrots and saute for another 3 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste and bay leaf and saute for 30 seconds. Then add the water and the sauerkraut, bring to a boil. Note: When I made this, I thought it looked like too much water. I probably used only about 4 cups. Easy enough to add more, if necessary. Also, the next time I make it, I'll probably use half broth, half water. I think broth adds more depth.
4. Add the sugar, starting with 2 tbl - how much you add will depend on how tart your sauerkraut is and how sweet the tomato paste. You are looking for a balanced sweet-and-sour taste. Simmer for 30-50 minutes.
5. Taste and add additional sugar, if necessary, plus salt and pepper (it may be salty enough from the sauerkraut). Simmer an additional 10 minutes.
6. Top each serving with a tablespoon or so of creme fraiche. I would serve with hot boiled potatoes or rye bread.