February 6, 2013

When I woke up this morning I had cabbage on my mind don't really know why cause, I'm not a big fan of it cooked.  The bearded fella on the other hand loves it.  I had some in the fridge that I had used on another recipe and since I really hate to waste food decided I'd make a soup something we both could eat so, I went looking for a recipe on my soup board and I,  was looking for something specific and I found it this recipe comes from www.mytastytreasures.blogspot.com .  I wanted a soup that would mimic a cabbage roll.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found this as it is a Rachael Ray recipe and I have made it before.  If you have a spare moment go read her original post I laughed so hard I bout fell outta my chair.  It's all about the tooting factor that goes along with eating cabbage :)

                                        Stuffed Cabbage Soup

4 Tbls. Olive oil, divided
1 c. raw white rice
1 quart plus 2 c. chicken stock divided
1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. coriander
2 tsp. smoked paprika
   salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, thinly sliced and chopped
3/4 pound head of Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 c. tomato sauce
        handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 Tbls. dill, finely chopped

For the rice:  Heat a sauce pan over medium heat with 2 Tbls. olive oil.  Add the rice and toss to coat.  Add 2 c. of chicken stock, bring to a simmer , cover and cook 16-18 minutes or until rice is tender.
Heat a soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the remaining olive oil, once hot add the meat and begin to brown 2-3 minutes.  Season the meat with allspice, coriander, smoked paprika,, salt and pepper.  Add bay leaf, onion, garlic and carrots.  Cook veggies 2-3 minutes until they start to soften, then add cabbage let it wilt a bit.  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and remaining stock cover the pot.  Raise the heat and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.  Once the rice is done, add to the soup and continue to simmer 3 minutes.  Stir in your parsley and dill, adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Serve

My note:  I didn't use the meatloaf mix just some ground chuck.  I also, didn't have fresh dill or parsley so, I used around a tablespoon of parsley and around a teaspoon of dill. I didn't have carrots either I used some frozen butternut squash that I had.   Oh and, I used just plain ole cabbage.

This soup does taste like a cabbage roll without all of the fuss of making the rolls.  I served it with buttermilk biscuits.  The bearded fella had two bowls and ate it for lunch the next day. Enjoy!!!!!