Nonna’s Cabbage Soup
Nonna’s cabbage soup could appear on diet pages, but she made it to feed her family when there wasn’t much except the produce of the land. My grandfather was a farmer and they had plenty of vegetables. I like soup for lunch and this recipe makes enough for the week.
I call this Nonna’s Cabbage Soup because it comes from spending time with my Nonna Emilia who emigrated from Calabria, Italy. It was a staple in her “Cucina Povera”; Nonna simply cooked and produced tasty meals from ingredients that came from her garden. These are simple ingredients, but they will warm you up on these cooler fall days.
start with a large 6 quart pot and put 2 Tablespoons of good olive oil in the bottom with a sliced clove of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano and 1/2 teaspoon of fennel. let that all infuse for about a minute on low heat.
I like to have everything ready before I begin. Dice three medium potatoes and roughly chop one medium onion. Living in southern Ontario, I have access to freshest vegetables. Everything comes from the local markets and I bought 3 small baby cabbages that were the size of a grapefruit. When chopped, it was about four cups.
As soon as that oil has absorbed the flavours of the spices, I begin layering the vegetables. I add my onions in first. I like to season with salt after each vegetable. After the onions, I add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and do the same after the potatoes and the cabbage. Then this mixture hangs out for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, I add one cup of Italian stewed tomatoes, the Romano beans and 4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth.
There is lots of “amore” in this pot.
Bring this pot of yummy to a boil and simmer for an hour on medium low heat.
Finish it off with some fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
Nonna's Cabbage soup
A hearty cabbage soup.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oile
- 1 clove garlic (use it whole or cut it into three pieces)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp fennel
- 1/2 tsp add more salt to taste as you layer)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 medium potatoes
- 4 cups sliced cabbage
- 1 can can Romano beans or any Italian style bean you like I like Primo beans they are firm
- 1 cup cup Italian style tomatoes you can use a seasoned brand
- 4 cups chicken broth
Instructions
-
Put the oil, garlic and seasoning into the pot.
Let this hang out on low heat for about 1 minute.
Dice onion and add.
Add potatoes and salt. Let the potatoes hang out for about a minute here.
Add cabbage and saute for a couple of minutes.
Next add tomatoes, beans and chicken broth.
Cover and simmer on low for about an hour.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some parmesan cheese. I also add fresh basil.
If you like this recipe and want to try some other recipes based on The Cucina Povera I would recommend this book.
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