Have you made Vegetarian Cabbage Soup?
The random moments in life. Aren’t they magnificent? We had been home bound for three day: Christmas Day was full of family, gifts, food and fun, and then came two days of a blizzard. By late Monday afternoon the snow had ceased. We were around the kitchen table making crafts and my husband stated ‘ I like Cabbage Soup’.
So the questioning began: ‘What did you say?’, ‘What made you think of cabbage soup?’, followed by statements such as ‘I did not know you liked cabbage’ and ‘I have not had cabbage since I was 8’ and so on. Then it hit me and I said ‘Let’s pile into the van, plow through the snow, and go buy the ingredients to make your cabbage soup.
Should you add split peas to your Cabbage Soup?
If you want to make this a truly hearty soup, be sure to use dried split peas the way my husband does. In fact, this recipe is especially meaningful to my husband as it conjures up many memories of making cabbage soup with his Portuguese mama. We did not bother to call and ask her how much she uses of anything as she (as with the culture it seems) cooks from the heart and just goes for it without any real measuring. No need to bother with some silly recipe card.
Ingredients:
1 cup dried split green peas (you can use yellow if you prefer)
7 cups of water
2 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 russet potatoes, roughly chopped
salt and ground pepper
1/2 head cabbage (green, red or savoy) chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 7 cups)
Directions:
- Pour peas and seven cups of water in large pot and bring to a boil. Continue to boil, with the lid off for 20-30 minutes.
- In a skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Then add the celery and carrots and cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, and finally, toss in the garlic for 2-3 minutes and set aside.
- To the peas, add the potatoes and continue to boil another 10 minutes. Then add the sauteed vegetable mixture to the pot containing the peas and add 4 cups of broth and cook on low for 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (my husband also adds a few dashes of cayenne pepper).
- You can now choose if you wish to blend the ingredients using an immersion blender if you want a thicker, creamier soup or leave it chunkier. If you want to blend the soup, blend first, and then add the cabbage.
- Add the cabbage to the pot and allow to cook over medium heat, for 15 minutes or so until the cabbage is wilted.
Serve and fill your soul with warmth (and your body with fiber and nutrients).
Christine says
Just making this soup delighted that I can add cabbage to split pea who knew ,very cold today 12 /22/22,this soup is very comforting on a cold windy day.Thanks for this soup. Merry Christmas you’all
Jennifer says
Thank you CindyLou!
Jennifer says
Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Cindylou says
I’ll be making this again tonight for the second time. It’s the best split pea soup I’ve ever made and I’ve been cooking for 40 years.
Jenn says
I just made this for dinner – delicious! It was a really warm and comforting taste in the middle of a blustery winter. The only change I made was using all stock (no water), since I had leftover from earlier in the week that I didn’t feel like freezing. My roomie and I really enjoyed!
Jennifer says
Love the addition of nutmeg and bay leaf and thank you for sharing your opinion
Jennifer says
Thanks for coming by – It is truly a great soup and the 4 year requested it yesterday so my husband made a huge batch and froze a bunch of it
zerrin says
I enjoyed reading the story. It started to snow here today, so this soup sounds like a great choice for me. I must go buy a cabbage before the snow piles up:) I love the flavors in it and believe me I love its color, too. Never made cabbage soup before, so I will definitely try it.
Geraldine says
I just made this, and it took me less than a half hour, and it was delicious! I added some nutmeg and bay leaves to it, but otherwise I followed everything exactly, and the proportions were perfect! What a great healthy and tasty meal!
Geraldine
http://geraldineinabottle.blogspot.com
Jennifer says
Hi Miri – the dried peas take about 30 minutes to cook and we wanted to soften the onions and garlic first hence, two separate pots. Plus, this was the first time we made so I worked one pot while my husband did the other. Have you done it in one? Please share as I would love to wash fewer dishes. 😉
miri says
looks awesome!
why did you split the cooking into 2 pots? is there any reason putting it all in one pot won’t work?
Maria says
I will be trying this one!
marla says
You had success in making this healthy soup pretty by serving it in that pretty red cassoulet. My kinda soup girl! xo
Jeff Deasy says
What a wonderful twist on classic pea soup for warming up on a wintry day!
Barbara @ Modern Comfort Food says
Great story, Jennifer, and such a scrumptious soup too! I would have never thought of pairing split peas and cabbage, but why the heck not? I can’t wait to make this as soon as we finish our traditional New Year’s black-eyed pea, collard greens, and ham hock soup.
Cajun Chef Ryan says
So glad to hear you made the culinary trek and adventure a success. This is a perfect soup of warming nutrition for a stay at home winter weather event.
Bon appetit!
CCR
=:~)
Jeanette says
This looks like a hearty soup, perfect for a cold snowy day.
Jennifer says
You should have seen the look Dom gave me when I said ‘Why don’t you call your Mom and ask her how many Potatoes she used?’ He said. she would think I was nuts!
Jennifer says
Hi Shelby – luckily the roads were much better than the driveway.
Shelby says
LOL, love the van story….I myself hate to drive in the snow and am really uptight when I have to drive or ride in it! The soup sounds awesome, we love cabbage here and I’m planning to get some when I go shopping again myself!
Shaina says
Sounds delightful, Jen. I grew up with my Slavic grandma just cooking from the heart, so I can definitely relate.
Jennifer says
Hi Tracey – how is the new place and settling in? Did the boat arrive yet? The bowls are from Pier 1 (love!)
Tracey@Tangled Noodle says
I love the story behind this soup and how one thing led to another! Kudos for braving the weather and making it up the driveway; this would’ve been tasty on its own but that extra bit of effort and winter adventure added a nice dash of flavor. And I love those darling lidded bowls!!
Hope you and your family are having a wonderful holiday season. 😎