Rustic Cabbage Soup

Today’s cabbage soup recipe was inspired by a mystery box shipment from Mariquita Farm in Watsonville, California. I come to a designated pickup location, pay $25, and in return I get what feels like twenty pounds of beautiful produce straight from the farm. At this time of year I might see the eyes of impossibly dainty potatoes staring back at me, they might be lying next to a kaleidoscope of brightly colored carrots, or shouldering on a pile of parsnips.

cabbage soup ingredients

Inspired by a beautiful moon-shaped cabbage and potatoes in the Mystery Box, I thinly sliced ​​the cabbage and cooked it in a simple pot with sautéed potatoes, beans, onions, garlic, and spicy broth. Each bowl was topped off with a generous drizzle of great olive oil, a few dollops of sour cream and a drizzle of something spicy – in this case, some Calabrian chilli paste. Couldn’t be easier.

But before I get too far ahead on the soup front, I want to tell you a little more about Mariquita Farm and what Andy and Julia do. There is a bit of backstory. I used to buy Mariquita produce at the farmers market on Saturdays. After many years they have decided to stop running the market. Mariquita sells my favorite rainbow carrots, and I was convinced I had to find a new source. That wasn’t the case, Julia emailed some of her regular customers last summer and mentioned that she occasionally ships to San Francisco… “Would we be interested in a pickup?” She also mentioned the opportunity to purchase one of Andy’s specially curated mystery boxes – which have since become very popular.

This isn’t CSA, it’s more guerrilla than that. As it stands now every two weeks (roughly) Julia and Andy pack a huge van with lots and lots of mystery boxes. Julia then climbs into the big truck and navigates across the mountains from Santa Cruz down to Silicon Valley and then north towards San Francisco. She parks the truck in front of a previously designated neighborhood restaurant, and people come from all over town to exchange cash for mysterious plants. It is great. I end up trying all sorts of ingredients that I might not otherwise buy. The plants are beautiful and bright because Andy grows and treats them so carefully.

Without sounding too muddy, this is just one more reason why I love living in San Francisco. On a good night, not only do I go home with the box (er, bag – the boxes are reused), but sometimes I even sit down for a drink or a slice of pizza and meet up with Julia. It’s a real treat.

A few related links:

Cabbage Soup Variations

Back to the soup – there are a number of variations I’ve made to cook this over the years. Here are a few standouts.

• Parmesan cabbage soup: There are nights when I keep it super simple and top things off with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and some chopped herbs.
• curry cabbage soup: Add a scant tablespoon of curry powder to the saucepan before stirring in the broth.
• Lemon Cabbage Soup: Prepare the soup as directed, but serve each bowl with freshly grated lemon zest and a generous drizzle of lemon olive oil.

cabbage soup leftovers

This is a great soup for the next day. So keep that in mind. In general, there are a few ways to deal with leftovers here (e.g. if you hit a double pot). Cabbage soup freezes well, so eat the soup full for a few days and freeze the rest. You should make sure it is room temperature or cold before freezing. Thaw before reheating.

I suspect many of you have all the ingredients you need on hand – apart from the cabbage. I will encourage you to try this! It’s a great basic recipe to have in your back pocket. This recipe was posted in early 2008 and I’ve made it many times since then. Enjoy! -H

More favorite soup recipes

You can browse all soup recipes here. I love this Broccoli Cheddar Soup, and this Coconut Red Lentil Soup is adored by all who try it. This ribollita is a reliable winter warmer, and if you love making soups like I do, you should start making your own homemade bouillon powder. I also love instant soups like this Tortellini Soup, this Spicy Coconut Curry Noodles, and this Italian Barley Soup.

101 Cookbooks Membership

Ad-free premium membership includes:
-Ad-free content
-Print-friendly recipes
-Spice/Herb/Floral/Zest recipe collection in PDF format
-Weeknight Express recipe collection in PDF format
– Surprise bonuses all year round