Sausage and Cabbage Soup

A couple weeks ago, I saw a picture on Instagram of a cabbage and sausage soup by Nom Nom Paleo. I’ve made enough of her stuff to know whatever the recipe was , it was going to be killer. But I’m challenging myself to try and use photos I find on Instagram, Pinterest or even in my beloved cookbooks and make the recipe from what I have on hand or how I think it should be made. Weird, I know, but it’s my own little personal challenge to help me (hopefully) become a better cook.

So instead of clicking the link to her blog, I grabbed some pork sausage out of the freezer and surveyed my fridge to see what I could add. I ended up throwing in onion, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms and savoy cabbage. I had some homemade bone broth so I used that too and topped the soup with fresh parsley and chopped green onions.

The result is sort of ramen-esque but hearty and comforting all at the same time. The rich broth gets flavored with the mushrooms and sausage and the cabbage is cooked just until it softens. The veggies are tender without being mushy and the whole dang thing takes 30 minutes to make.

I won’t even try and pretend my kids eat this soup. Not a chance. Last night I didn’t even offer it to them. Sadly, I think they would actually like it, if they wouldn’t turn their noses up at the cabbage. Oh well. Mayne some day. I’ve made this a couple times now and I can already see this is going to be one of my winter staples. 

Sausage and Cabbage Soup

• 1 pound ground pork sausage (any kind will do, just NOT breakfast sausage)

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 carrots, diced

• 3 stalks celery, diced

• 5 ounce container sliced mushrooms (a mix of button and shitake is ideal)

• 1 medium head of savoy cabbage, shredded

• 2 32-ounce boxes of organic chicken bone broth (regular chicken stock works too)

• Kosher salt and black pepper

• 1 tablespoon minced green onion

• 1 tablespoon fresh OR dried parsley

In a large Dutch oven, brown sausage over medium heat, breaking the meat up into small pieces, until just cooked through. Remove meat from the pot and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Return the pot to heat and sauté the onion, carrots and celery for 5-6 minutes or until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are fragrant. Add the garlic and stirring well, cook for 2 more minutes. Add the mushrooms and cabbage to the pot. Salt and pepper the entire vegetable mixture liberally, continuing to cook for another 3-5 minutes. Stir well. Add the sausage back to the pot along with the chicken broth. Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer at a slow boil until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes. The cabbage should not have any crunch but not so cooked that it begins to fall apart. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if needed.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with green onion and parsley. Soup should feed 6-8 people. Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for leftovers the rest of the week.