Cabbage Soup with Smoked Sausage

Recently I was going through my new Bittman cookbook looking for something I could make with ingredients on hand, without a trip to the store, and stumbled on this lovely soup. I had a several-weeks-old head of cabbage in the fridge that my 4 year old had picked out at the grocery store, and some kielbasa in the freezer that I had intended to use in another recipe months ago. (Letting your 4 year old pick out vegetables may sound odd, but I encourage it with all of my kids. Fruits and vegetables are something I can say yes to! And maybe if he picks it out he'll be more likely to eat it.)

Like most of the recipes from this cookbook, the soup is simple, streamlined, easy to cook, and tasty. Also it puts me in mind of Irish food, appropriate for next month's celebrations.

I served the soup with skillet cornbread but I think it would be good with beer bread too.

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Cabbage Soup with Smoked Sausage 

Source: How to Cook Everything Fast by Mark Bittman

2 T olive oil
1 lb bratwurst, kielbasa, or other smoked sausage
1 large onion
1 small head Savoy or green cabbage
salt and pepper
1 T caraway seeds
6 c chicken or beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 teas dried thyme

Put 2 T olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces; I did thin slices the first time I tried it but I might go even smaller next time to distribute the meat more evenly through the soup.

Add the sausage to the hot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on most sides, 5-10 minutes. Slice the onion into 1/2 inch thick slices. Trim the cabbage; cut into quarters, then cut out the core. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch ribbons.

Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving as much oil as possible in the pot. Raise heat to medium-high and add the onion and cabbage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until they begin to soften, 3-5 minutes.

Add 1 T caraway seeds. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add 6 c stock, cinnamon stick, and 1 teas thyme. Return sausage to the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat so it bubbles gently. Cook 5-10 minutes (longer at higher altitudes) until the vegetables are tender and the soup thickens a little. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve.