A word about beer: a hoppy craft brew will NOT work with this. I use a bottle of Smithwick's red or maybe a bottle of Goose Island 312 "urban wheat ale" (no hoppier than your basic Budweiser).
The original recipe calls for discarding the broth before serving, but it's too tasty to waste.
You'll need a fair-sized pot.
Ingredients:
6-8 tablespoons butter
1 head of cabbage
2 packages of smoked sausage or kielbasa (24-32 oz)
several good meaty mushrooms, like Portobellas
1 nice large carrot (optional)
2 bottles of good beer
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
Chop and sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat. If you intend to add carrot, chop it into thin medallions and sauté them next, with the cabbage.
Chop the cabbage into chunks; separate the bits and add it all to the pot. Sauté for 5-10 minutes.
Add the contents of one bottle of beer, plus a half bottle (the other half a bottle is for you); also add the mushrooms, halved or cut into quarters, depending on their size. Cut the sausage into medallions, not too thin, and add them too.
Add spices and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Be wary of overcooking the cabbage: it will taste fine, but the texture will deteriorate.
Consider trying this with fennel and root vegetables.
