Sweet & Sour Cabbage & Tomato Soup

 

We have had some really frosty and chilly days here in Nova Scotia this week.  Perfect soup days!  This Sweet & Sour Cabbage & Tomato Soup recipe has been perfect to enjoy.  Heartwarming and belly filling, but at the same time quite healthy as well as being economical.

It is a recipe that I adapted from one which I found on Family Friends Food.  It looked simple and delicious and reading it; I thought it sounded very similar to how I make my cabbage rolls.  I couldn't wait to give it a go!

 

It was fabulous!  Not only was it very simple to make, using only a very few ingredients, but the end result was really delicious, and it was very hearty!  I wish so much that I had access to all of the varieties of cabbage that are available in the U.K.  I think the sweetheart and Winter King would be excellent done in this soup!

I did make a few changes. I sauteed the onion and cabbage in butter rather than oil. I like the richness butter adds to everything. I also cut the recipe basically in half, with excellen results.

It really is the simple things in life which bring us the most pleasure and this tasty soup is proof positive of that! 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SWEET & SOUR CABBAGE & TOMATO SOUP

Some very humble and delicious ingredients.  I love soups like this one.

• 1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 of a medium cabbage, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced (about 392g)
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) vegetable stock
• 1 (14 oz/400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup (50g) of uncooked long grain rice
• salt and black pepper to taste

 

I used a white cabbage.  Generally speaking, that is pretty much the only kind of cabbage we get here. I do so miss all of the cabbages that were available to us in the U.K.  If you are not fond of strands, you can chop it up rather than slice. 

The original recipe used oil. I switched that out to butter. I like the richness that butter adds to a simple recipe such as this one.

Do use a good quality brand of chopped tomatoes in juice.  In the U.K. I always liked to use Cirio, here in Canada I like to use Mutti. They do cost more than the others, but to me it is worth the price to have really lovely Italian tomatoes.

I was tempted to use brown rice for the nuttiness but used long grain white as per the recipe. I am glad that I did as I don't think the brown rice would have cooked properly in this soup. 

 

HOW TO MAKE SWEET & SOUR CABBAGE & TOMATO SOUP

It's not hard really. If you know me by now, you will know that simple and easy work best for me!

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. over medium-low heat. Once it begins to foam, add the cabbage and onion. Sprinkle the sugar over top and season to taste.

Cook the cabbage and onion slowly, stirring occasionally for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are very tender and starting to just caramelize.

 

Add the vegetable stock, undrained tomatoes, and lemon juice. Stir and bring to the boil. (if you think you need more liquid you can add more stock.)

Stir in the rice and reduce to a slow simmer. Cover tightly and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes until the rice has cooked and all of the flavors have gently melded.

Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Ladle into heated bowls and serve immediately.

 

If you wanted to you could blend the soup to make a thicker soup and get rid of the strands of cabbage. I did not mind it just as is.  You could also blend just half of it, keeping a few strands.

It does thicken upon sitting as the rice swells and absorbs some of the juices. You can combat this by adding a bit more hot stock to thin it down a bit.

 

This was really delicious. Not quite as sweet as I had thought it would be, but that was good. The lemon added a lovely touch of sharpness that I quite enjoyed.  A fresh spark.

I enjoyed a lovely bowl of this along with two slices of toasted and buttered sour dough bread. It was quite simply a lovely supper.

 

Now that the days are getting colder, there is nothing that hits the spot so nice as a hot bowl of soup. Here are a few more favorite soups that we enjoy in The English Kitchen.

PEA SOUP WITH SHARP CHEDDAR DUMPLINGS -This beautiful soup is delicious and hearty. In a pinch you could use tinned pea soup, but from scratch is infinitely more delicious!  Who doesn't enjoy a nice bowl of soup with dumplings!  This is a favorite!

LEMON AND CHICKEN SOUP - This is a fabulously tasty chicken soup, with fresh flavors!  It uses chicken stock along with lemon juice. You might think the lemon would be overpowering, but it really isn't.  It adds a lovely layer of flavor that is quite pleasant! It is delicious and hearty.  You can make everything up to adding the pasta ahead of time but do wait until not too long before serving it to add your pasta.

Yield: 2 - 3 Servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Sweet & Sour Cabbage & Tomato Soup

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This is quite simply delicious. It is wonderfully comforting served hot with buttered toast.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 of a medium cabbage, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced (about 392g)
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) vegetable stock
• 1 (14 oz/400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup (50g) of uncooked long grain rice
• salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. over medium-low heat. Once it begins to foam, add the cabbage and onion. Sprinkle the sugar over top and season to taste.
2. Cook the cabbage and onion slowly, stirring occasionally for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are very tender and starting to just caramelize.
3. Add the vegetable stock, undrained tomatoes, and lemon juice. Stir and bring to the boil. (if you think you need more liquid you can add more stock.)
4. Stir in the rice and reduce to a slow simmer. Cover tightly and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes until the rice has cooked and all of the flavors have gently melded.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Ladle into heated bowls and serve immediately.

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