Hearty Cabbage Roll Soup

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home.” Edith Sitwell

This hearty soup has all the great flavors of cabbage rolls without all the work.  Essentially deconstructed cabbage rolls, it is made stovetop, a one-pot meal.  Loaded with heart healthy cabbage in a rich tomato broth, it is more stew than soup.  You can make it with ground beef or ground turkey.  I seasoned mine with bay leaves, dill and parsley but go with the flavors you are partial to from your favorite cabbage roll recipe.  Ready in about a half hour, it is a warming cold weather dish everyone will want to dig into.  Hearty and filling, no one will suspect it is low calorie. So good.  Grab a bowl!

• Servings: 8
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• 1 pound of lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cabbage, cored, roughly chopped, about 3 pounds
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 14-once can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 24-once jar tomato sauce
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1-2 teaspoons salt(start with 1 then add more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1-2 teaspoons dried dill, to taste
• juice of a lemon

1. In a large soup pot, brown the beef or turkey, stirring to break it up.  Add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice. Cover and  bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  If using brown rice, you may need 10-15 additional minutes of cooking time.
3. Add in the lemon juice.  Can be made in advance and reheated. Add more broth if you prefer a more soup-like consistency. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Untitled, Kleppinger, 1944, private collection

“Advice is like the snow. The softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks into the mind.”

– Samuel Taylor Coleridge