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Portuguese Cabbage Soup
You have to try this soup! Seriously, it's delicious, creamy, hearty, cheap to make, easy to make, healthy...the list goes on. This humble soup is one of my favorite things to make and eat. It has a creamy consistency but doesn't use any cream, flour, or butter - it's just blended potatoes and carrots that make the thick and silky base for this soup. Add in some chopped cabbage, beans, and a little pasta and you're good to go. Ton's of vitamins in these veggies and it's so budget friendly. Did I mention it tastes good?! Okay, I'll stop, let's get on with the recipe.
Roughly chop up a bunch of potatoes and carrots, as well as a little celery, an onion, and a couple gloves of garlic.
Throw everything into a big pot with some olive oil, lots of salt for flavor, and fill it up with water until the water covers the veggies by about an inch.
Boil for about 45 minutes until all the vegetables are super tender, then use an immersion blender to blend everything until there are no chunks left at all. An immersion blender is basically a small blender on the end of a stick that you use in the same pot you're cooking in - they don't cost much to buy, either. I would highly recommend investing in one because they're perfect for soups, sauces, and even making individual milkshakes. If I haven't convinced you though, go ahead and use a regular blender and blend the soup in small batches at a time. Keep a towel over the lid and don't fill the blender more than halfway or the scalding hot soup will fly out (seriously - just get an immersion blender!)
Once the soup is pureed, add half a cabbage, chopped, and cook for about 15 minutes. Then add a can of beans, and a quarter cup of small pasta. I used stars for this particular batch of soup, but orzo, tubetini, or even broken up spaghetti work just as well. Cook for another 6-8 minutes until the pasta is cooked, and that's it! At this point I always taste for seasoning, and I'll add a bit more water if the soup is too thick.
You can totally change up the veggies you use for the base of the soup as well - you can add butternut squash, sweet potato, parsnips, etc.
Recipe:
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Serves: 6
Ingredients:
8-10 medium red or yellow potatoes, into chunks (if using large russet potatoes, only use 4 or 5)
6-8 carrots, into chunks
2 ribs of celery, into chunks
1 white onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs salt
Water
1/2 head green cabbage, chopped
1 can white beans or kidney beans
1/4 small pasta, such as tubetini or stars
1. Put the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic into a large pot. Add the olive oil and salt, and cover with water until the vegetables are submerged by about an inch. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, for about 40 minutes until the vegetables are extremely tender.
2. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend everything until the soup is extremely creamy and no chunks remain.
4. Return the pot to the heat and add the cabbage, cook for another 20 minutes then add the beans and pasta and cook until the pasta is done, about 8 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil on top.