February 1, 2020 38 Comments

Farmhouse Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa

Name: Farmhouse Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: East European
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola oil; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 2 large carrots, chopped; 2 stalks celery, chopped; 10 cups chicken broth; 1 can (15-ounce) petite diced tomatoes, undrained; 1 cup tomato or vegetable juice; 1/2 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped; 1 pound kielbasa (pork or turkey), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika; 1 tablespoon curry powder; 3 cans (15-ounces each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed; salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Farmhouse Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa is rustic, hearty and some of the best soup you’ll make all fall and winter long!

This is probably something we can all agree on: January is a tough, L-O-N-G month. Thankfully, February is a short, but then there’s March when winter refuses to give up! However, this rustic and hearty Farmhouse Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa will help get you and your crew through!

The inspiration behind Farmhouse Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa:

This amazing soup was inspired by a visit to my parent’s farmhouse in central Wisconsin when my mother was hospitalized before she passed away. Even though the hospital was an hour away, we went there every day. When we returned home at the end of the day and it became increasingly clear she may never make it home again, we all needed something to lift our spirits.

My family is Polish and because cabbage is a mainstay in Polish cooking, there’s always seems to be a head of cabbage at my father’s house. My father is a hunter, fisherman, gardener and forest forager so his freezer is always filled. It has everything from venison Polish sausage to Wisconsin bluegills to wild blackberries. The root cellar is stocked with everything from potatoes to salsa to sauerkraut.

Because my father’s house is so well-stocked, I was able to pull this soup together with what he had on hand. It’s comforting, soul-satisfying, bone-warming, rustic, a little spicy and was just what we all needed at the time.

When to use canned beans versus dried beans:

My general rule of thumb of when to use canned beans versus cooking dried beans is how present they are in the dish I’m planning to make. For a dish like this, canned beans work fine because of the different textures going on. If I’m making a bean dish, then, by all means, it’s better to cook the beans from dried.

Although cannellini beans (or white kidney beans) are used mainly in Italian cuisine, the Poles use them in Breton Beans or Fasolka po Bretonsku, a dish that originated in England but is very popular in Poland.

Having traveled to Krakow, Poland a couple of times, I was impressed by the variety of international cuisines one can enjoy there. It’s not all pierogi and stuffed cabbage! Therefore, I used a combination of spices in this cabbage soup from other cuisines: Hungarian paprika adds to the East European feel of this soup and curry powder for an exotic Indian touch.

Warm crusty bread is all you need on the side. Stay warm and enjoy!

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Yield: 8