Saint Patrick’s Day is stealing up on us. *Groan* It’s not exactly my favorite “holiday.” I’ll probably risk being pinched and forget to wear green on Tuesday. Honestly, the antics are all a bit silly, particularly in NYC.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the Irish. Some of my best friends are Irish. Also, I hear that they eat cabbage. The corned beef, I could never get excited about. But cabbage? Yes, please.
Cabbage and I are old friends. It’s healthy and yummy and one of the few veggies that hasn’t trekked halfway across the globe to the supermarket in the winter. I’ve made more cabbage soups this winter than I have in a long time. So, why not celebrate Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland and send the mid-March chill packing with a steaming bowl of cabbage soup? (And, no, I’m not talking about the diet, either!)
The cabbage and white bean soup I wrote about this week is quite easy. Twelve more cabbage soups for you to try after the jump.
I know we’re talking about Saint Patrick’s Day, but Eastern Europe has rather cornered the market on cabbage soups. The New York Times recently published a recipe for this beet and greens borscht, which looks pretty astounding. This recipe for bigos (Polish hunter’s stew) looks like it would induce a food coma of epic proportions, as does this peasant style cabbage soup. The cabbage soup from Veselka, an East Village institution has both cabbage AND sauerkraut, and so by definition must be amazing. Ukranian sweet and sour cabbage soup also looks quite tempting, as cabbage and apples are great together. And I can tell you from experience that this cabbage and kielbasa soup is easy and delicious, and works great in a crock pot.
Or, try breaking out a little bit with a gingered cabbage soup. Caldo verde, a Portuguese soup, could be fun, too. This recipe for creamy cabbage soup with gruyère sounds downright decadent! Or put an Asian spin on your soup with hot and sour cabbage soup or Peking duck bone soup (if you have a Peking duck carcass handy).
But maybe the Irish have it right after all: This bacon and cabbage soup looks comforting and delicious, too. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Clacked by Molly B.
on Mar 14, 2009 @ 14:20 EST5EDT
Caldo verde with regular cabbage? I’ll have the kale, please.