Alright, so today I decided to tackle something comforting because the weather felt just right for it. Ended up making a batch of creamy cabbage soup. It’s one of those things that sounds maybe a bit plain, but it really hits the spot.
Getting Started
First thing, I grabbed that head of cabbage I had sitting in the fridge. It wasn’t huge, but big enough. Gave it a good rinse under the tap. Then, the chopping began. I wasn’t too fussy about it, just chopped it up into manageable pieces. Some big, some small, you know how it goes.
Next, I needed some flavor base. Found a decent-sized onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. Chopped the onion, not too fine, just a regular dice. Minced the garlic. I also decided to add a couple of potatoes to make it thicker later on. Peeled those and cut them into rough cubes.
Cooking Time
Got my trusty big pot out, the heavy one. Put it on the stove, medium heat. Added a splash of olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two. Once it was warm, I threw in the chopped onion. Let that cook for a few minutes, stirring it around until it got soft and kinda see-through. Then I tossed in the minced garlic, stirred that for like, thirty seconds. Gotta be quick with garlic, don’t want it burning.
Okay, time for the main stuff. Dumped all the chopped cabbage and the cubed potatoes into the pot. It looked like a mountain at first! Gave it a really good stir to get everything coated a bit with the oil and mixed with the onions. Let it cook down for maybe 5-10 minutes, stirring now and then. The cabbage started to wilt and shrink, making more room.
Then I poured in the broth. I used vegetable broth this time, had a carton handy. Poured enough to just about cover all the veggies. Added a good pinch of salt and some black pepper. Stirred it all up again. Brought the whole thing up to a boil, then immediately turned the heat down low, slapped the lid on the pot, and just let it simmer away. Needed to let those potatoes and cabbage get really, really soft. I checked on it maybe after 20 minutes, gave it a stir, poked a potato piece with a fork. Needed a bit longer. Probably simmered for a good 30-40 minutes in total.
Making it Creamy
Once everything was super tender, I turned off the heat. Now for the creamy part. I grabbed my immersion blender – makes life so much easier. Stuck it right into the pot and started blending. I didn’t go for perfectly smooth; I like a little bit of texture in there, so I pulsed it until it was mostly creamy but still had some small bits. If you don’t have one, you gotta carefully ladle it into a regular blender in batches, which is honestly a bit of a pain.
After blending, I stirred in some heavy cream. Didn’t measure exactly, maybe about half a cup? Just poured some in until it looked right. Stirred it through gently. Important: don’t boil it after adding the cream, just heat it through gently if needed. I tasted it right then. Needed a tiny bit more salt, so I added that and stirred again.
All Done
And that was basically it. Ladled the creamy cabbage soup into a bowl. It looked good, smelled warm and comforting. Took a spoonful – yep, job done. Simple, hearty, and surprisingly tasty for just cabbage and potatoes. A good way to use up pantry staples.
