Soup Du Jour

So we are leaving for the Holidays this Saturday morning and I have been using every effort to clean out our fridge before then.  I had a head of cabbage and about 8 Roma tomatoes left in the produce drawer this morning, so I decided to attempt to make a soup with the two loosely using a recipe for stewed cabbage, then adding broth to it.  Here is the recipe I created.

Cabbage & Tomato Soup

8 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced

4 Tbsp sun dried tomato oil*

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp medium ground black pepper*

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 gal. vegetable broth*

-Heat the oil in a large stockpot (I use a 2 gallon, stainless steel one) over medium heat until it just reaches the smoke point (when a tiny bit of smoke starts to emerge from the hot oil).  

-Add the tomatoes and cabbage and cook until wilted.  Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-Add the sugar, vinegar, garlic, cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper and stir.

-Mix the broth with the tomato paste and pour into the pot.

-Cook on medium-low heat for an additional 30 minutes, then enjoy!

*The oil I used is from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes.  It is just olive oil, but the flavor is better, however plain olive oil would work just fine

*I grind peppercorns in a coffee grinder that I use specifically for spices, and I like to just pulse them a few times so the pepper still has some small bits in it, not a fine powder.

*I make my own vegetable broth because it's cheaper and tastes so much better than the store bought, also I can make a ton at once and freeze it.  The recipe for my broth follows as well.

Vegetable Broth

1 large yellow onion

2 lbs carrots

1 bunch celery

2 Tbsp whole peppercorns

6 whole cloves

1 whole bay leaf

1 Tbsp whole thyme leaves

2 gal water

-Cut the onion in half through the root.  Don't worry about peeling it or removing the root end, just be sure it is clean of dirt.  Stick 3 cloves each into the cut ends of the onion until they barely stick out.

-Wash the carrots and cut them in half, again don't worry about peeling or cutting the ends off.

-Wash and cut the celery into thirds, but keep the end pieces.

-Put all of the vegetables into a large stockpot, if you have one big enough, or in two (I use a 2-gallon stainless steel one).

-Add all of the other spices and cover with the water.  

-Start on medium heat, and cook until the water reaches a boil.  Turn down the heat to just a simmer and continue cooking for a total of 8 hours.  (I let mine cook on the lowest setting overnight for a complete 24 hours just because I like the extra flavor, but that's not necessary if you don't want to leave the stove on all night, or don't have the room!) Continue adding liquid during the cooking time to keep the level at 2 gallons.

-Cool the liquid in the fridge and then strain, keeping the liquid and discarding the rest.  (I like to portion mine into 2 cup [16 oz.] increments in plastic baggies and then freeze the bags so I can always have the broth available when I need it!)

I thought the soup was a success.  It was a bit sweet, but I liked the way it turned out because it still had a nice acidic quality to it and a small kick in the aftertaste.  Overall, a nice vegetarian soup that will be great for lunch when the snow gets a bit deeper :).  I chose to freeze the soup in gallon baggies with 1 quart each (or 4 cups) so that I can enjoy it at different times!  It will keep for up to a year in a good freezer bag, possibly longer, I've just never been able to keep any soup around that long!