Cabbage Soups

Does anyone have favorite recipes or basic combinations for soup involving cabbage? (Not, of course, as a diet fad, but using an ingredient I find I am fond of.)

I've made them with potatoes, chicken, lemon, onions, and dill, garnished with more snipped dill, sour cream and fresh pumpernickel croutons. (Though not in some time.) Also as a large ingredient in a winter minestrone, with onions, potatoes, white beans, carrots, and turnips - adding sausage to please more of the family. As a player in simple, light vegetable soups, it's been pleasing me recently. Now, I think a slightly sesame-ginger-soy flavored version is needed. Perhaps with tofu or chicken. But I'd love to hear any and all ideas from others!

I don't see beets up there. Have you ever had a good Borscht? I have never cooked one, but was served one once by a woman from Georgia (not in America). It was lovely!

ETA: When I say lovely, I mostly mean flavor, but the color with a little swirl of sour cream on top was lovely too!

Mmm.... good idea! I love beets!

ETA: Thank you!

We just had a cabbage soup with Italian sausage, and northern white beans. I beleive we modified it from the Portuguese Kale soup from Twelve months of Monastery Soups. I love cabbage myself, but find that it seems to be under appreciated by others. :-(

DS

I'm not a big cabbage fan (or soup fan for that matter), but there used to be a restaurant with a Hungarian cabbage soup that was really wonderful. Let's see if my new cookbook has a recipe:

Bacon, onion, sauerkraut, Hungarian paprika, beef broth, caraway, tomato paste, smoked ham, hungarian sausages, dried mushrooms, dill and lots of sour cream.

Yes, that's about right.

We actually had cabbage soup for dinner tonight. My husband loves cabbage. I make it with whatever I have on hand. Today I used a roasted tomato base with carrots onions garlic red peppers, and leftover rice. Very tasty.

I also love MarthaJeanne's caraway/dill/mushroom soup combo. Since DH is a vegetarian, we will pass on the sausage etc. (but I think it sounds yummy!)

I love this Tuscan Bean Soup which uses savoy cabbage from Around the World in 350 Recipes

3tbs EVOO
1 onion roughly chopped
2 leeks roughly chopped
1 large potato peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 pints vegetable stock
14oz can cannellini beans (drain liquid into container)
6oz Savoy cabbage shredded
3tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
2tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 cup of parmesan cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in large saucepan and gently cook the onion, leeks, potato and garlic (4-5 min)

2. Pour the stock and bean liquid into saucepan, simmer covered for 15 min

3. Stir in cabbage and beans, 1/2 herbs. Season and cook 10 min more. Process about 1/3 of soup until smooth, return to saucepan.

4. Season to taste and cook for 5 more minutes.

Even the kids loved this soup, which was pretty easy to make and needed no adjustment.

Have not had the chance to try any sort of Cabbage soup (other than the weight watchers sanctioned "Zero Soup")

I have a friend here at work that raves about a cabbage casserole that she makes. Ive been meaning to try it but just don't have much time to cook anymore.

My most commonly consumed preparation of cabbage would be boiled along with potatoes and corned beef or pork butt.

The Hungarian soup is a great base for ideas - one, just from necessity, limiting the meats to one or two; another, made with chicken or beef broth, no tomato, possibly ham or roast pork, and dried or fresh mushrooms, onion, dill & sour cream. And perhaps one featuring sausage-potato-tomato elements heavily, with plenty of caraway and cabbage, but less sour cream?

Sorry; musing.

Thank you, MarthaJeanne. :)

Bookworm, the Tuscan doesn't sound far from ones I've already done, with great pleasure. Definitely worth trying, before winter's (quite) over, I think.

Though I agree many people seem to underestimate or dislike it, most of my family has loved cabbage's occasional appearance in soups, when in other forms, or directly mentioned, it might not appeal to them. (My sympathy, bruce_krafft!)

Emidawg, it's surprisingly good, simply boiled, isn't it? And great with pork. (Though I usually gravitate toward red cabbage, in that case: with apples, or sauteed with a dusting of Parmesan, or in a slaw with red wine or cider vinaigrette.) Any kind seems to be nice, thinly sliced and quickly sauteed. I am not sure how people kill cabbage, though I know I've had and smelled awful instances.

I'm curious to hear what the casserole involves, besides cabbage.

8 & 9> I want to hear what the cabbage casserole involves too! Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie!

I vaguely remember a cabbage & lamb casserole that we made in the sauna one year when I was a kid. There was a big snow storm that knocked out the power and we were snowed in without power for 2 or 3 days. Thank goodness we had a wood burning sauna with no electricity. It was my grandparents old milkhouse with a woodburning stove in it. Oh, the good old days. . .

DS

Don't know if I've posted this here before or not, but it's a great cabbage recipe. Been in our family since my great-grandmother learned it from an old Scottish bachelor who lived next door.

Scotch Stew by Maggie Craddick

½ med. cabbage, shredded
3 med. onions, shredded
3 med. potatoes, shredded
½ c. rice
½ lb. bacon, chipped beef or ham, minced
½ lb. cheddar cheese, shredded
1-2 slices sourdough or French bread, cubed
4-5 saltine crackers, crushed

Layer each vegetable into a large frying pan which can go in the oven, sprinkle rice on top. Barely cover with boiling water, cover, and cook until rice is tender. Add the meat and cubes of bread to absorb excess moisture. Sprinkle cheese on top, then crackers. Place in oven for about 10 min. to melt cheese.

Interesting. Thank you! It seems a little heavy on carbs - potatoes, bread, rice, crackers - which is economical, but something I ought to limit, at present. So perhaps I will try a variation? Does it sound possible to you, to cut these down somewhat, yet retain its character?

If not, I'll wait till fall or winter, and give it a try, then.

Winter's already over in Texas? We've been having snow this past week or two.

it's surprisingly good, simply boiled, isn't it? ...I am not sure how people kill cabbage...

My mother taught me to cook cabbage this way:

Shred the cabbage as normal and add to a pan in which you have heated 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of caraway seeds. Turn the cabbage in the oil for a couple of minutes, then add salt and pepper and a small splash of water. Shut the lid tightly and shake the pan, then leave on the heat for about 5 minutes.

You will get lovely, slightly crispy cabbage with a delicious flavour - even as picky children we liked it.

Eurydice - That recipe is a Depression Era recipe, so yes, heavy on inexpensive carbs! I think for health purposes, I would stick to the soups or the way that sarahemmm suggests in post #14. That sounds delicious!

Here's a link to one of my prize winning recipes which could easily be modified for carb control, just substitute broth for beer, maybe add a bit of vinegar. Play with it. :)

http://www.californiakitchencompany.com/recipes/main_dishes/SausageBeerKraut.htm...

MarthaJeanne, mid-February is always at least the beginning of the end. It's frequently in the seventies, here, if rainy. The high today is 83, though temps are expected to drop sharply by the weekend. Admitting a bit of chill and blustery weather even this last week, even our version of winter is assuredly fading.

I would not be sorry if we had snow. :)

Sarhemm, as I particularly love very lightly cooked cabbage, and am fond of caraway, it sounds lovely. I've more often sauteed it, with caraway; but all the better covered and left for a minute. Thank you.

MrsLee, many's the time growing up, it would have been perfect. But your sausages, beer and kraut recipe is! Hitting on my weakness for good sausage, now and again, and, as you say, easily modified. I look forward to trying it both ways. One soon, one eventually. (I do like good beer, too - and very much in food - if less at present!)

My husband is travelling in Spain with my mother and brother. Here it's snowing at 0 (C) and he called today from Gibraltar - it's 18 there and sunny. I have another infection on the back of the one he gave me a few weeks ago. Good thing he called to say that he saw a Marks and Spencer's. Did I want anything? Here's hoping they still have some winter stock in.

I wish you (or him) success. May you be both warmer and healthier - perhaps with the aid of a chicken soup with carrots and cabbage? - soon.

If it is any comfort, there are downsides to Houston's warmth. The lack of seasonality here really is missed, and many people find the summers "brutal".

15> Ooh I must try your cabbage recipe! Bruce & I went to Kramarczuk's this weekend and got some sausage (they ship to the lower 48 states :-)) . Smoked brautworst or Nurnberg Brats maybe. . . I am thinking the Curry or Moroccan Lamb ones would just be wrong. Though the Moroccan would go well with cabbage.

It's cold agian here in Minneapolis. It was so warm earlier, I think we even had a could of days in the mid-40's but today was windy and snowy and around 15 when I was out shopping. Someone pointed out that it is only 30 days until spring!

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

I should (theoretically) get a taste of your weather, soon. :) Envious of your brats - and curry and Moroccan sausages - I nevertheless wish you the best of them! Let us know, if you try the recipe. (It sounds like you're more ready than I.)

#19 & 20 - When I made it, I was trying to recreate a memory of some cabbage I once ate in a German restaurant in the Napa Valley. It was years ago when I had it, and I think they used red cabbage, but this was definitely in the ball park of my taste memory.

Nice tread

I have made Soup with cabbage today.
This is a typical old fashioned Norwegian soup.

First I used salted pork.
You can use a cheap part as the leg or somthing or some other meat of your choise.
This meat shall cook in water for 3 hours.

In the meantime cut vegetables in cubes etc.
Carrot
Cabbage
Celeriac (root)
Celery
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Onion
Potatoes
A little of everything, you deside after what you have.

When the meat has been cooking for ca 3 h, take it up, rinse it for all fat and cut it in cubes. The fat is not good, in to the bin.

Put everything else back in the cookingwater (I don,t know what you call this), with the bones and season with Thyme and Pepper and salt if needed.
Cook for at least one more hour.
It is even better tomorrow when heated. Good to freeze.

If you wish eat it with flatbread.

If you want another traditional Norwegian dish we have FÅRIKAL; Fårikål literally means “sheep in cabbage”.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia;

Fårikål is a traditional Norwegian dish, consisting of pieces of lamb's meat with bone, cabbage, whole black pepper and a little wheat flour, cooked for several hours in a casserole, traditionally served with potatoes boiled in their jackets. The dish is typically prepared in early autumn, after the slaughtering of the year's young lambs. (Some people prefer mutton for this dish.) Fårikål is originally a dish from the Western part of Norway, but is now enjoyed in all parts of the country.

This is a good recipe; http://www.recipezaar.com/Faringrikaringl-Norwegian-Lamb-and-Cabbage-Stew-189134

IaaS, it sounds wonderful. Water you've cooked things in to season it, as for soup, is called "broth" or "stock" in English.

The lamb dish also sounds good. :)

> 22 I really like the idea of onion-thyme-leek-salt pork-cabbage-potato (etc.) mingling in the soup pot, as they are in my mind.

An Amish recipe is to par boil cabbage and cut into bite size pieces, then add it to a homemade macroni and cheese recipe. I do this using spaghetti instead of macaronis and friends rave about it. Doesn't sound good but it is: Spaghetti, Cheese, and Cabbage Casserole

Now I want to run out and buy some cabbage! Ok, the fact that it is in the low 60's this morning helps. Mmmm macroni and cheese with cabbage!
DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

This is a recipe for a good cabbage casserole...it's like stuffed cabbage rolls only in casserole form...much easier to make!

Cabbage Casserole
1 small head cabbage
1 lg. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 gree pepper, chopped (optional)
2/3 cup minute rice
1 can tomato soup
1 can water.

Slicing the cabbage thin, place it over the bottom of a long casserole dish. Brown hamburger, onion, and peppers. Add raw rice and mix well together. Put on top of cabbage. Mix the tomato soup and 1 can of water togther. Pour over the casserole. You can add cheese on the top if so desired. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.