My 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 month.
I live in the southern United States so what’s to complain about you might ask. Well, instead of snowy and cold as in my home state of Wisconsin, we have a rainy and bone-chilling damp cold with a bleak gray landscape. No, not the worst thing in the world and hallelujah for the NFL playoffs this month and how ’bout them Packers!
Here’s a rustic and hearty cabbage soup to help get you and your crew through. Inspired by a visit a while back to my parent’s farmhouse in central Wisconsin while my mother was hospitalized, it’s comforting, soul-satisfying, bone-warming and was just what we all needed at the time.
My family is Polish and because cabbage is a mainstay in Polish cooking, it seems there’s always a head of cabbage in my father’s house. My father is a hunter, fisherman, gardener and forest forager so the freezer has everything from venison Polish sausage to bluegills to wild blackberries. The root cellar is stocked with everything from potatoes to salsa to sauerkraut.
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 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! Go Pack!
Serves 8
20 minPrep Time
25 minCook Time
45 minTotal Time
Save RecipeINGREDIENTS
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
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat canola oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until it begins to soften. Add the carrot and celery and cook another 4 to 5 minutes or until softened.
Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato or vegetable juice, cabbage, kielbasa, garlic, paprika and curry powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover slightly and cook until the cabbage is tender, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Add the beans and heat through. Adjust seasoning if necessary and add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in parsley.
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