There is something about the crisp cool mornings and warm sunny afternoons that make me fall in love with Fall. The island girl in me says, “I want to live in a perpetual summer!” but the Canadian girl in me says “I am done with this heat, bring on some cooler weather!”. Along with the cooler weather, changing leaves and pumpkin spice lattes comes soup season! If I drive north of the city, which I love to do just to soak in the colours of fall, I can see the once green fields cleared and the dark rich soil, bare, awaiting its next season. That’s when the farmers markets are full of new cabbage and root vegetables. The harvest of new potatoes and cabbage makes it the perfect time of year to have this Potato and Cabbage Soup.
Cabbage - Clean and cut cabbage by removing any damaged or browned outer leaves and rinse under cold water. Place the head of cabbage on a cutting board with the stem side down. Cut in half lengthwise (top to core), all the way through the core. Place halves cut side down and cut out the core, then cut remaining cabbage half into 2inch cubes.
Leeks – I prefer to use leeks in this recipe because they have a milder flavour than yellow cooking onions. Be aware the leeks often have dirt hiding in their folds and layers so unless you want a gritty soup make sure you wash them carefully, as I have described below. If you don’t have leeks on hand, you can easily substitute them with cooking onions.
Potatoes – My preference for this soup is a Yukon Gold potato also known as yellow flesh potato but you can use any type of potato. I have never used sweet potato; I think it would change the flavour too much. If you do try it with sweet potato let me know how it turns out!
Olive oil – I like to sauté in olive oil but if you are oil free, please feel free to use a bit of water when sautéing
Potato Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
1 head of cabbage
3 leeks
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
8 medium potatoes
8 cups of veggie soup broth
1 bay leaf
½ tsp herb De Provence
Salt to taste
Instructions
1. Peel potatoes and cut into 2 inch cubes. Rinse potato cubes and place in a bowl of cold water and set aside. This will keep them from turning brown while you get everything else ready.
2. Clean and cut leeks by trimming off and discarding the root ends. Trim off and discard any dried out or browned ends of the leek greens. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, slice them crosswise into ½ inch pieces. Cut the entire leek, white and green. Put the leeks in a large bowl and cover with cool water. Swish the leeks around to loosen any dirt or grit. Let the leeks sit a few minutes for the dirt and grit to settle to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the leeks out of the bowl into a colander and give them one more rinse.
3. Clean and cut cabbage by removing any damaged or browned outer leaves and rinse under cold water. Place the head of cabbage on a cutting board with the stem side down. Cut in half lengthwise, all the way through the core. Place halves cut side down and cut out the core, then cut remaining cabbage half into 2inch cubes.
4. In large soup pot, over high heat, heat oil and add leeks and cabbage and sauté until they are soft, about 7-10 minutes.
5. Finely chop garlic, strain potatoes and add to pot, stirring into cabbage, leek mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add bay leaf and herb De Provence and give a quick stir.
7. Pour in soup broth and stir.
8. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower heat and allow to simmer until potatoes are very soft.
9. Remove bay leaf and add salt if needed at this point.
10. Serve on its own or with a dollop of cashew sour cream.
Enjoy!
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