Tomato puree?
Tomato puree?
Recipe is really short, so here's pretty much the full thing:
Sauerkraut Soup Russian-Style
3 to 4 tablespoons butter (am substituting with margarine)
1 onion, sliced
2 small carrots, sliced
1 potato, peeled, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon tomato puree
1/4 pound sauerkraut
4 to 5 cups Basic Beef Stock (references other recipe in book, substituting with premade vegetable broth)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (substituting with half the amount in dried parsley)
1 teaspoon chopped chervil (might omit or replace with half amount herbes de provence since store doesn't sell)
Sour cream
Melt butter; cook onion and carrots until golden. Add potato. Stir in flour; when smooth, add tomato puree and sauerkraut. Cook a few minutes; stir constantly. Add stock and herbs; bring to boil. Simmer about 40 minutes; season to taste. Serve hot with sour cream in each soup cup. Yield 4 to 6 servings.
how much of the soup is the puree being added to? if it’s a good amount (say enough for 2 people,) I would imagine they’re meaning something closer to paste than sauce.
even with paste, a single teaspoon isn’t going to do much for a decent sized bowl. in the US puree is somewhere between sauce and paste. The only real difference between all three is how much liquid has been reduced out of it. (I would suggest going with a paste, and. you can freeze the left over stuff if you’re not expecting to use it right away.)
I suspect that recipe is by someone whose not familiar with how homecooking usually works. (wanna bet they use dozens of pots and pans just for this soup? lols)
Quite the opposite actually, apparently the authour was classmates with Julia Child.
The yield is 4-6 servings. Wish I could do more to give an approximation, but I gave the full recipe to another comment if that at all helps.
reading the recipe, I’m imagining they’re meaning something thicker, like paste. (or the “double concentrate” stuff you find in tubes.).
the quick saute with the sauerkraut is going to kick up the flavor more than you would get if it was a more saucey variety. (you would just be cooking off the liquid,)
edit: I do feel like it might be safe to omit, it’s going to deepen some of the flavor in the soup, but I don’t think you’ll have much tomato flavor in it. (Like how putting a splash of lemon in chicken stew lightens it up a bit. you don’t taste the lemon, you can just feel like maybe something is missing,)
In the US, the concentration of tomato paste and tomato puree is legally defined. 8%<puree<24%<paste. “Sauce” is not defined the same way, and commonly has other stuff added to it like salt, oregano, basil, or other herbs.
My guess is the recipe has to be paste, otherwise that’s barely anything.
For sick a small amount, I think whatever kind of thick tomato sauce would work, but given that it’s a tablespoon, I’m thinking tomato paste would be the best bet. Because the amount sounds more like it’s bringing a little color and maybe a some tomato flavor. But whatever you can get your hands on would likely be fine.
Now if it were asking for a higher amount, like a whole can or two, then it’s really relying on the texture and flavor of the sauce, and you’d have to get a similar sauce.