Regina Rae

It’s May and with 101+ temperatures and final exam flurries, it’s about that time for me to start packing up my school-year things and prepare for summer.  I’ve been moving out of my house this week and I haven’t been cooking.  I’ve been making a last-ditch attempt (however futile) to “eat down” the freezer.  I’ve found quinoa bagels, a couple pear and pistachio blondies (still good!), assortments of pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, even a lone tub of pesto!  But yesterday, I found an exciting surprise: a frozen tub of cabbage soup, (not freezer-burned!).  I made this recipe about a month ago when cabbage was first harvested in the southwest.

For a long time, I was neither here-nor-there about cabbage.  My introduction to cabbage probably started with soupy cafeteria slaw and needless to say, I wasn’t overwhelmed.   But yesterday I popped the frozen block out of the Tupperware tub, heated it on the gas stove, and even in 101+ degree weather, I slurped up every drop.  This recipe is delicious.  I wanted to post this recipe pronto because warmer temperatures will be hitting other parts of the States soon and soups will sound like a feeble alternative next to icy drinks, cold bean salads, and spring-time sandwiches.  So here goes: last of the soup recipes (excepting gazpacho, perhaps).

This recipe was inspired by Heidi’s “Rustic Cabbage Soup.”

Ingredients:
1/2 large head green cabbage
4 potatoes (Yukon Gold or red)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups garbanzo beans, pre-cooked
8-10 cups veg broth (in a pinch, use Rapunzel bullion cubes)
2 teaspoons dried dill
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
sea salt, pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)*

*If on a vegan diet, omit. 

Directions:

1. Prepare vegetables: Chop potatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Chop onions; slice cabbage into thin strips.  Mince garlic.

2.  In a large pot, heat olive oil at the bottom of the pan.  When hot, add potatoes and cook until slightly soft and crispy on the sides, about 5 or 6 minutes.

3.  Add onions, cabbage and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Add chickpeas and cook one more minute.  Add herbs.

4.  Fill pot with water or broth and bring to a boil.  (If using, add bullion cubes.) Boil for 5-10 minutes.  Test broth and season generously with additional sea salt and pepper.  Garnish individual bowls with Parmesan cheese.

Diet Notes: gluten-free, vegan (see asterisk), nut-free

Tagged: bullion cube, cabbage soup, canellini beans, chickpeas, dill, garlic, Gluten-Free, green cabbage, nut-free, olive oil, oregano, potatoes, sea salt, thyme, vegan, vegetable broth, winter garden, winter soup, yellow onion, yukon gold