Savoy Cabbage Soup

  

If you’ve read my food posts before, you probably noticed I like real food. I believe in eating clean, whole food that is prepared with real ingredients and fresh produce. Today we’ll talk about real food in a fresh bowl of soup full of vegetables.  Rich in vitamins A, C and K, but also in minerals such as iron, phosphorus, potassium and calcium, savoy cabbage is definitely a wonderful ingredient for many typical winter recipes. What is one of the best recipes? Savoy cabbage soup! It’s very easy to prepare and with so many different variations, you can make it your way. If you find any recipe is too spicy or bland, make your own adjustments. This is what cooking is all about. It might not be the “classic” result, but it’s yours. The soup is made with bright green Savoy cabbage with carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes.  I like to make it with chicken stock and even have put left over baked chicken in it.  It is equally good made with a good vegetable stock for a meatless meal. Then I would add mushrooms and white beans for protein and fiber.  With a hearty bread, you have a meal in a pot. If you can’t find Savoy cabbage, green cabbage will work, but don’t use red cabbage. It has a sharper flavor. If you want to add leftover meat like baked chicken, pork roast, or beef, add at the end and heat for 5 minutes. 

 

Savoy Cabbage Soup

Use organic when available. Makes 6 servings.

An easy to make, tasty and flexible cabbage soup for cold winter days

Ingredients

• 1 Savoy or small green cabbage shredded
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 carrots sliced
• 2 Russet potatoes peeled & chopped
• 2 celery stalks sliced
• 1 (15-oz.) can chopped fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp thyme
• handful of fresh cut parsley
• grape tomatoes halved
• Optional cup of cooked chicken meat
• Optional drained can of white beans
• Optional 1/2 cup mushrooms sautéed

Instructions

• Place oil in large pot over medium high heat
• Add onion and cook for 3 minutes until soft
• Add cabbage, garlic, smoked paprika, and celery and cook for 3 to 5 minutes
• Add stock, tomatoes, thyme, 2 tbsp. parsley, carrots, and potatoes
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer
• Stir in red pepper flakes
• Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until vegetables are soft
• Optional add cooked chicken, pork or beef and heat 5 minutes
• Optional meatless version, add drained can of white beans and sautéed mushrooms
• Place a few halved grape tomatoes and a little parsley in each soup bowl
• Pour soup over fresh tomatoes and serve with crusty bread

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Easter Bean & Ham Bone Soup

 

When I was growing up, Easter usually meant a ham dinner. Of course, I love the memories of my mother's cooking and being with my family. I must admit most of the time when I was older and cooked Easter dinner for family, I bought a spiral sliced ham. If you are having ham on Easter or any other occasion, don't just throw away the bone from your ham. It's great for soup and ham broth. It's also wonderful to add to a pot of collard greens or cabbage. You can keep the ham bone in the fridge for 5 days or freeze it for at least a few months.

 

 

 

Today's recipe is classic white bean and ham soup. Very often family members get tired of a holiday menu when having it warmed up several times. Besides adding the ham bone for great flavor, the soup is the perfect way to use left over ham and vegetables. The next time you have a ham dinner for the family, plan to make bean and ham soup and use the ham bone and any leftovers in the soup. I'm using navy beans, but you could add other beans or peas too. Add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and herbs for a comforting bowl that's inexpensive and filling. If you don't have a ham bone, you can use a ham hock. It's similar. I was raised in the south so I grew up with homemade corn bread to accompany the meal, but it's great with rolls, biscuits, or crusty bread.

Bean & Ham Bone Soup

Use organic when available. 8 Servings

Ingredients

• 16 oz dried navy beans (or great northern beans)
• 8 cups water
• 1 ham bone or smoked ham hock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chopped ham

Instructions

• Sort and rinse beans
• Soak beans overnight in large pot or bowl covered with at least 4 inches of water
• Drain and discard the liquid
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 4-quart soup pot over medium high heat
• Add onion and celery & cook for 2 minutes
• Add garlic and cook for another minute
• Add 8 cups of water to soup pot with lemon juice, beans, bone, thyme, parsley, mustard, salt, pepper, and bay leaves
• Bring the mixture to a boil
• Reduce heat to low and simmer covered
• Cook for 2 to 3 hours
• Stir occasionally and add more water if needed
• Add chopped ham and carrots the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking
• When beans are tender, remove bone and cut off any meat
• Discard bone, gristle and bay leaves
• Add ham back to pot
• If soup seems too thin, use potato masher to mash some of the beans in the soup
• Optional sprinkle fresh chopped herbs or green onion on bowl of soup
• Serve with crusty bread, corn bread, rolls or biscuits

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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