“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!
Hearty Cabbage Roll Soup
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
“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