Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup or Nick’s Cabbage Soup
This is an old classic adapted to my liking. You could likely use another ground meat like lamb or turkey for this if you prefer. We have always used beef. There are lots of great veggies you can sneak into this one. My brother discovered this recipe when he was about 10 years old and it became a staple as our meal on Christmas Eve (along with my mother’s cheddar oatmeal bread). This year I decided to resurrect this recipe after coming across both of my grandmother’s hand written versions of the soup along with their notes. One said “no salt” and another mentioned that it was “too thick” with the green beans. This is my own adaptation that I think works well served with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and crusty gluten-free sourdough bread. (Hoping to try my hand with gf sourdough at some point soon, too!!). Let me know what you think!
Ingredients:
1 lb ground grass-fed beef (or lamb or turkey)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 small yellow onion, finely diced—about 1 cup
6 carrots, sliced thin—about 2.5 cups
Celery, sliced thin—about 2 cups
14 oz can organic crushed tomatoes
14 oz organic tomato sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ head of organic green cabbage—roughly chopped—about 4 cups
1 can organic kidney beans
32 oz organic beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup filtered water
1 cup frozen organic green beans
Instructions:
In a large soup pot or dutch oven, cook ground beef over medium high heat along with the garlic and onion. When beef has browned, about 8 minutes, add the celery, carrots, broths and water.
Increase to higher heat and add the crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid.
Once soup is boiling, stir, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer partly covered for about 15-20 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
Taste soup to see if it needs additional salt. Stir in frozen green beans and the cabbage. Simmer for a few more minutes until cabbage is wilted. You may need to add a cup of broth if it gets a bit too thick!
Serves 9
