Paul Steindler’s Cabbage Soup
Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023
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.
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Goat Cheese, Roasted Grape, And Walnut Bruschette
In the fall, you’ll find pounds and pounds and pounds of grapes in my fridge. Until last October, the idea of roasting them would have been preposterous to me, not to mention kind of disgusting. Why would someone do such a thing? What could possibly beat the taste of a fresh Concord or Muscat grape fresh off the vine?
Of course, Concords and Muscats aren’t just any old grape, and if I ever come into a significant amount of money, I’ll probably buy a vineyard where I will plant acres and acres and acres of heirloom varieties that will be grown exclusively to be eaten. And I’ll eat them all, don’t think I won’t. (Question: would it still be considered a vineyard if I wasn’t planning on producing wine?) Regular supermarket grapes are just okay in comparison, but I still enjoy eating them plain when they’re extra-firm and tightly clustered.
After trying chicken roasted with grapes a few months ago, however, I’ve finally come around to the roasting camp. I really liked the way the heat turned the grapes into hot bursts of sweetness.
(I realize I may have made a huge deal over a seemingly insignificant issue, but given how ardently I’d felt about grapes and the only correct way of eating them this was a revelation for me.)
(An aside: a friend of mine called me a grape snob a few years back, and the barb continues to sting. Is it really snooty to be obsessed with heirloom grape varieties? I don’t think so.)
I recently, and finally, got around to buying Polpo, A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts). My God is it beautiful. From the cover to the binding to the gorgeous, ethereal photos, its looks are enough reason to buy the book. Hint: flip through it if you’re in need of inspiration. It’s eye fuel, if you will.
But beyond its aesthetically pleasing appearance, it is filled with the most tenderly-chosen recipes. Or so I believe. While they’re nothing revolutionary, each has been jotted down with just the barest of guidelines, suggesting an intuitive understanding—and deep love—of the food. My mom passes tried-and-true recipes on to me that are just as vague, just as instinctive.
But I’m not here to write a cookbook review. I just wanted to share with you the results of my first stab at a recipe, a bruschette (ever since Emiko’s post, I’ve never been able to pronounce ‘bruschette’ the same way again), made with seedless red grapes, goat cheese, walnuts, honey, and thyme.
It isn’t something that can quickly be thrown together, as it does require briefly roasting the grapes and the walnuts in the oven (in two separate pans, what’s more), but the final product is a feast of incongruous elements: hot, juicy grapes ready to burst and bordering on raisin, the oddness of goat cheese mellowed out by floral honey, roasted walnut that’s almost kind of melted yet pleasingly chewy, thyme with all its connotations of warm lovely peasant food, and the underlying scent and taste of garlic, which tips it over the edge, if you ask me. Altogether, wonderful. Make it! For lunch, as an afternoon snack, as an elegant appetizer at a posh dinner party. It will wow you as it will wow guests.
I love how food blogging makes me that much more open to trying new things. Roasted grapes, what an idea.
GOAT CHEESE, ROASTED GRAPE, AND WALNUT BRUSCHETTE
From Polpo, A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts)
Serves 2
I’m following the format of the book by providing vague measurements. You know what tastes good, so go with your intuition!
Ingredients:
- 10 grapes – any seedless variety
- Small handful of picked thyme leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 10 wanut halves
- 2 thick slices of bread (I used semolina bread)
- 1 garlic clove
- Large handful of crumbly goat cheese
- Honey
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a baking pan, toss the grapes with most of the thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pop it in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. In another baking pan, toss the walnuts with some olive oil, and slide it into the oven during the last 5 minutes of roasting the grapes. Remove both from the oven and set aside.
Toast the bread so that it’s pleasantly toasted, but still pliant. Rub the garlic clove into the bread much like you’re using a crayon. Drizzle with some olive oil.
Crumble or smear some goat cheese onto the bread. Add the grapes and walnuts, garnish with some small sprigs of thyme, and drizzle with honey.
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