Vikalinka: Tushenaya Kapusta тушеная капуста (Russian Braised Cabbage)

I know that Russia is struggling a bit lately with an reputation problem, and I'm sure many people would probably wonder why I'm making something from that country given everything that's been happening in Ukraine the last year, but I choose to believe that hidden underneath all the terrible leaders and authoritarian bluster, the Russian people are probably very much like us.  Plus, they have some really delicious food, and I had a savoy cabbage sitting in my fridge, staring at me.  This is a fantastic way to turn that cabbage into an umami bomb, and with just the bacon for flavoring, it's almost a meat-free meal.

Note: I had to add about 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt at the end, but always add to taste, because your bacon and chicken stock might be saltier than mine.

Tushenaya Kapusta тушеная капуста (Russian Braised Cabbage)
Adapted from Vikalinka blog

¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms
½ pound bacon, sliced into batons
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, if needed
1 cup chicken stock
1 (1½-pound) Savoy cabbage, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons sour cream
Kosher salt, to taste
1 tablespoon each: fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley and dill

Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup boiling water and set aside for one hour to rehydrate.  Once rehydrated, drain and chop the mushrooms.

In a large and deep pan, cook bacon until fat is rendered, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

To the same pan with the bacon fat, add onions and cook on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes until slightly colored, then add garlic and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are soft. If there doesn't seem to be enough bacon fat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the stock and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden or plastic spatula to release the brown bits into the stock.

Add sliced cabbage, rehydrated mushrooms, cooked bacon, tomato paste, bay leaf, and pepper, stir to combine, lower the heat and cover with a lid. (If the cabbage doesn’t fit in the pan, add ⅔ of the amount and cover with a lid for 10 minutes, then add the rest when the volume of the cabbage in the pan goes down.) Braise the cabbage for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes with a lid on while stirring once in a while to prevent the bottom from burning.

At the end of the cooking time the volume of the cabbage should have reduced by roughly half and the color should turn from bright green to golden brown. There should be no liquid left in the pan. Stir in sour cream and warm through for 1 minute.

Season with salt last, as it’s easy to oversalt in the beginning stage when the volume of cabbage is significantly higher.