The Seasonal Gourmet

I love cabbage rolls but I don’t always have the time or energy to do all the prep work required to make the filling, prepare the rolls and make a sauce.  This soup is a great alternative – you get all the flavour of cabbage rolls with very little effort. As an added bonus, the ingredients are very inexpensive so you can feed a crowd on a budget.  Serve with fresh crusty bread and you have the perfect meal for cool fall days!

Cabbage Roll Soup

Makes about 12 cups

(Can be adapted to be VEGETARIAN)

• 1 Tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or safflower
• 1 lb. (450 g) ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ head of green cabbage, chopped (about 9 cups)
• 14 fl. oz. (398 ml) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 5.5 fl. oz. (156 ml) tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup long grain rice
• 4 cups (1 litre) reduced-sodium beef OR vegetable stock
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large stockpot or enameled cast iron pot, heat oil on medium high. Add ground beef. Break up with a spatula and cook until just browned, about 5 minutes. Remove ground beef from the pot, put in a bowl and set aside.
2. Add cabbage, onion, garlic and thyme to pot. Sauté on medium heat until softened. The cabbage will reduce in volume as it cooks down but you may have to stir it around so it all gets exposed to the heat.
3. Once the cabbage mixture has softened, add ground beef that was set aside, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Stir until ingredients are thoroughly combined and bring soup to a gentle simmer.
4. Add rice. Cover soup and let simmer on medium heat until rice is fully, cooked, about 15 minutes.
5.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Variation: for a vegetarian option, you could eliminate the ground beef and increase the raw rice by ½ a cup. Use vegetable stock instead of beef.

Cabbage Roll Soup - it's not too pretty to look at but it's delicious, filling and budget-friendly.

This recipe first appeared on Suite 101.com

Bon Appétit and Enjoy!