I suspect most of us like cabbage more than we think we do. It’s certainly not the most dashing of vegetables; there’s something very stolid about it, insipid, blank. But, who doesn’t love a crunchy coleslaw, or pungent kimchi? And who can possibly refuse a stuffed cabbage of hearty proportions? Not I.
In this case, cabbage is cooked Czech-style, with caraway seeds, dill, and wine vinegar that lend it the most heart-warming pickled cabbage taste. It’s full of bacon, potatoes, and carrots, so it feels hearty and more than filling enough for a meal along with some chunky bread. In reality, it’s healthy and economical and incredibly satisfying. You could even go vegetarian by not including the bacon and I think it would taste just as wonderful in a vegetable-y way. And I didn’t think it needed the heavy cream, although there is that option if you want to go luxe.
I made a huge pot of it at the beginning of the week and polished it off almost singlehandedly. A second pot awaits, and I’m very excited!
Sorry about today’s quick post. I just wanted to make sure to squeeze in this post before St. Patrick’s Day. If you decide to forego the corned beef and cabbage, this soup makes a fine substitute.
PAUL STEINDLER’S CABBAGE SOUP
Adapted from a recipe by Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey for the NY Times, via Alexandra Cooks
Serves around 6
Who is Paul Steindler? According to this article, he made this soup for Craig and Pierre, above.
Ingredients:
6 cups shredded cabbage (half a large head)
1 cup (about 6 oz.) bacon
1 cup finely diced onions
1/4 cup flour
6 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup finely diced carrots
1-1/2 cups finely diced potatoes
1 tsp whole caraway seeds, crushed or pulverized
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar (I used red)
1/2 tsp sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill (or more or less to taste)
Directions:
Place cabbage in a large saucepan. Submerge the cabbage with boiling water (I boiled the water in a kettle), let it sit for a minute, then drain.
In a large pot, cook the bacon until rendered of its fat. Chop the bacon into small bits, return to pot, and add the onions. Cook on medium, stirring, until wilted. Sprinkle with flour and stir, then add broth, stirring rapidly. When the mixture begins to simmer, add the cabbage, carrots, potatoes, caraway seeds, vinegar and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook, stirring often, for about half an hour. At this point, you can stir in the cream, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped dill, then serve. Extra dill can be added if desired.
These photos are gorgeous! I love the colors and styling! You need to stop berating your style-skills, chica!
I feel like whenever I’m presented with a food to style, my mind goes blank, absolutely blank! But thanks for the reassurance.
I love cabbage! I think my favorite form of it is all mushed down after braising with some red wine vinegar (pickled-cabbage taste is the best). I’ve recently gotten into roasting it too, which is pretty awesome if you haven’t tried it.
Happy St Patricks day! I never get around to more ambitious cooking projects, so I was just planning to stick a head of cabbage in a pot of boiling water and call it good–I need to feel festive in some way, right? This soup seems along the same lines…but much more practical…and delicious, haha.
Ah, roasted cabbage. I forgot about that, and yes, it IS awesome! Thanks for the reminder. Happy St. Patrick’s Day Amy! I usually don’t do much to celebrate except eat a slice of Chris’s grandma’s Irish soda bread (out of politeness mostly, since I really don’t like the stuff—hers is always dotted with brightly colored jellied fruits. Yuck.).
On a related note, have you read Molly’s latest post? She waxes poetic on cabbage, and as usual, nails it. I love it! You should read it if you haven’t already.
I have a soft spot in my heart (or stomach, I should say?) for irish soda bread with currants… it appeals to that overly-large sweet tooth I have I suppose.
And no, I hadn’t read that post! Thanks for recommending it to me.
Beautiful pictures! Cabbage always adds such a nice flavor and texture to soups. I’ve heard it works wonders in stir fries too, but have yet to try this theory.
That is so true about cabbage. It’s so tasty (and healthy), and I feel like a lot of people shy away from it just because it isn’t exactly glamorous (and it can be a little funktastic….especially in kimchi form). Kimchi is actually one of those things I haven’t quite come around to liking yet, but I’m working towards it. The crazy awesome sandwich place around the corner from Johnny’s apartment sells a Korean reuben that’s loaded with kimchi, and I think that’s delicious—there’s hope!
And Happy St. Patrick’s day! I didn’t make/eat anything at all festive, but I did accidentally decide that today was the day I was going to wear one of the few emerald green shirts I happen to own. (I was sitting in traffic and I noticed a girl walk by wearing a green skirt, and I thought to myself, “Ha! Wearing green on St. Paddy’s day, how sil……oh god, wait, oh no.”)
Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! I kind of regret not making green-colored cupcakes with Bailey’s frosting or something along those lines, but I was feeling so so lazy. Now I’ll have to wait a whole year before I have an excuse to pull out the green food coloring.
I think you could like kimchi, a lot, under the right circumstances. I mean, it’s soooort of like Sriracha (kiiiiind of—I’m stretching it, aren’t I?). If I have it in the house, I’ll eat it straight from the fridge, but it’s also delicious in kimchi fried rice!
Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is collecting links to dishes using cauliflower and/or cabbage. I do hope you link this in. This is the link . It would be great if you checked out some of the other links – there are lots of good ones already. Cheers