Velvet Red Cabbage Soup

We people from the northern countries know exactly how the winter veggie market looks like: potatoes, cabbage, carrots, parsnips and pumpkins are on the menu. Of course nowadays almost anyone can get fresh strawberries in the UK [or Poland or any other winter-experiencing country] in January, but that does not look, taste or feel right. Luckily cabbage is one of the most healthy vegetables, and the darker they are the better. So there is no guilt or shame in overusing it 👍

Hooray to the winter vegetables and let's get cooking. 

This soup is very minimalistic in the major ingredients [cabbage, potatoes, apples, onion], yet still taste amazing. I hope you will try it.

What do you need?

5 l pot [the recipe makes about 4 l of soup]

500-600g red cabbage [roughly chopped into smaller pieces]

2-3 apples [any sweet/sour eating apples will do. Apples pair with cabbage really well, always a good combination] - chopped roughly

1 onion chopped 

2 garlic cloves

2 [300-400g] white potatoes [Maris Piper are good, as they are floury, great for thickening the soup] -peeled and chopped

4 Tbsp sunflower or olive oil

2 l of veggie broth/stock [or 2 l of water and 2 veggie stock cubes]

6 juniper berries 

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper+ mustard seeds mix [or more to taste]

1.5 tsp marjoram 

1-2 tsp salt [taste at the end before adding more, if needed]

1 tsp fennel seeds [ or caraway seeds]

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar [added at the end while blending the soup]

OPTIONAL: thinly chopped cabbage or cauliflower, or veggie crisps for serving [I had a bag with parsnip, carrot, beetroot crisps]

How to?

1. heat oil in the pot, add onion, garlic, apples, and spices [salt, pepper+mustard seeds, marjoram, fennel seeds, juniper berries] and cook, stirring occasionally, on small/medium for about 5-7 minutes. Do not let it burn. They need to get soft and slightly caramelised. 

2. add potatoes and cabbage and cook still stirring occasionally for the next 3-5 minutes.

3. add broth [or water with stock cubes], cover and bring to boil on high. It should take about 10-12 minutes. Then lover the heat and, still covered, cook for about 15 minutes. 

4. switch it off. Add vinegar and blend all in the pot with the hand held blender until creamy [couple of minutes]. 

5. serve and enjoy! The soup, as most cabbage dishes, it's even better the next day, if you have any leftovers to check that 😉.