Homemade Cabbage Soup

How to prepare homemade Cabbage Soup? Anyone can prepare it with just a little effort. A perfectly light first-course soup in three guises, much different from most heavy cabbage soups. Recipe makes 4 servings. Preparation time: about 40 minutes. Follow this directions carefully for this easy soup recipes:

HOMEMADE CABBAGE SOUP



INGREDIENTS :
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, sliced
1 small head cabbage, just over a pound, preferably Savoy, cored and shredded
10 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock or water
3 Golden Delicious or other good apples, peeled and cubed, for garnish

DIRECTIONS :

1. Combine the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. When the butter melts, add the onion and cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and cabbage wilt and begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Add 8 of the thyme sprigs and cook for a few minutes more. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Add the stock and lower the heat to medium; stir occasionally as it heats. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter foam subsides, add the apple pieces; cook, stirring occasionally, until they brown and become tender, about 10 minutes. Strip the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs and sprinkle them over the apples along with a bit of salt.

3. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning; remove the thyme sprigs. Serve the soup hot, garnished with the apple.

…OTHER WAYS TO PREPARE CABBAGE SOUP



Simple Cabbage Soup with Potatoes and Caraway Recipe
Substitute 2 thick slices bacon, diced, for the olive oil, if you like, and 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, lightly crushed, for the thyme. Add 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice. Omit the apples. In Step 1, cook the bacon, then the onions and cabbage in its fat, or use the olive oil as directed. Add the potatoes with the stock and cook until the potatoes are very tender. Proceed with the recipe.

Simple Cabbage Soup with Mushrooms and Ginger
Substitute dark sesame oil for the olive oil, peanut or other neutral oil (like grape seed or corn), for the butter, and 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger for the thyme. Instead of the apples use 2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (stems discarded or reserved for stock) or button mushrooms. In Step 1, use 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil for the onion and cabbage; add the ginger when you would the thyme. Sauté the mushrooms in the remaining oils for garnish.

This is one of the best and simple soup recipes. Hope you like it. Bon Apetit.