Wondering what to do with a half head of cabbage and potatoes I had sitting around brought about this hearty soup. It's brimming with vegetables, white beans and spices and is enough to feed a small crowd. Add some socca or crusty bread to the meal and you're all set. The socca I made here was seasoned simply with salt & pepper and can be whipped up while the soup is cooking. It's a nice accompaniment, not so much of a soaking bread like crusty bread, but delicious and filling. The soup in itself makes for a complete, nutritious meal with the beans adding a good amount of protein. I used leeks in this recipe, they lend a nice mellow onion flavor, but you can sub in an onion if you like. This turned out to be a great place to use up the leftover produce. I love cabbage in soups, this will be made many times to come. I'm happy to share another hearty soup for the recipe collection to inspire your senses, keeping you plant strong and loving it!
Feel free to change up the vegetables. If you're missing one or two, you can still pull this together and have a wonderful soup. If you can't find leeks, use 1 medium onion, diced, in its place. For the cabbage, use your favorite here. I happen to have regular green cabbage on hand but savoy cabbage would be great too.
For this time around I chose to use herbes de provence. I love the combination of spices, especially the fennel that I find in this blend from The Spice Hunter. I also added in a teaspoon of fennel here because I love it. Feel free to use any spices you like as most of them will work well here. You can use 2 - 3 teaspoons of an Italian blend or combine a few herbs using 1 teaspoon each: thyme, oregano, rosemary. You can also use sage, marjoram or parsley, savory, etc...in any combination as long it equals about 1 tablespoon.
When using Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth base, I never use the recommended serving size. I use just enough to flavor the water. For this recipe I used just under 2 teaspoons. This makes my jar last a lot longer and reduces the 'would be' sodium content per recipe. I've just recently (the last six months or so) been using their vegetable broth base and love it!
This is a one pot soup that's so easy to pull together. Saute the leeks, celery and carrots, add spices and garlic, cook a bit more. Add remaining ingredients ending with cabbage and white beans last as pictured above. Cover and simmer until cabbage and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with bread of choice. Enjoy often!
RUSTIC CABBAGE, POTATO & WHITE BEAN SOUP
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water or 2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil (for sauteing)
- 2 leeks (use white & pale green parts), sliced and rinsed
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence OR 1 teaspoon each thyme, rosemary, oregano
- 1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes
- 6 - 7 cups vegetable broth or water
- 2 medium gold potatoes, diced
- 1/2 head large cabbage, sliced (savoy or green)
- 3 cups cooked white beans or 2 cans (15oz), drained and rinsed (use cannellini, great northern or navy)
- mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, to garnish
Prepare your vegetables. After slicing your leeks, be sure to place them in a colander and rinse them well under cool running water to remove any dirt and sand that may have collected between the leaf sheaths. If there's a lot of dirt, place sliced leeks in a bowl of cool water and gently swish the leeks around to dislodge any unwanted remnants. Drain water by gently tilting the bowl with one hand and holding your hand over the leeks with the other so they don't fall out, or simply drain into a colander. Repeat until leeks are clear of dirt and sand. Here is a good tutorial from, The Kitchn, on how to wash and prep your leeks. Lastly, another method you may try is this: Slice off the root and the dark green parts. Slice in half vertically. Run under cold running water, opening up the layers as you rinse. Lay on flat surface and slice thinly hortizontally.
In a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat water/oil over medium to medium-high heat, add leeks, carrots and celery, saute for 5 minutes. Smells delicious already! Add garlic and spices, saute for 1 minute more or until fragrant. Add tomatoes, broth, potatoes, cabbage and beans, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes and cabbage are tender. Taste for seasoning adding salt & pepper as needed.
Serve topped with parsley and a serving of socca or crusty bread. Enjoy!
Serves 6 - 8.
Notes:
As noted above, change the herbs to whatever you have on hand. You could also use an Italian blend seasoning if you like. I also like to add in a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
I would suggest using the biggest pot you have for ease, this makes quite a bit of soup.
If leeks are not available, sub in 1 medium onion, diced.