Mom's Polish Cabbage Soup

Oh man, am I excited about this one. I can't even convey it to you over the internet. You see, that "Mom" in the title of this post is not an abstracted standard of home cookin,' but rather actual Mom, the woman who gave birth to me and Erica. In case you don't know, she is a really fantastic cook, and our interest in food definitely comes from her. (Our dad is interested in food too, but his passion is more on the consuming side than the preparing side.) When we were growing up, our mom used to make this amazing cabbage soup as part of her regular winter soup rotation. It was very simple: onion, lots of cabbage, beef broth, bacon and rice. I remember how the little bacon bits got juicy in the soup, and how the wild rice blend my mom always used added an interesting texture. But once we went veg, this was just one of those things we figured we'd never see again. Sure, we can veganize muffins and marinate tofu with a marinade originally intended for scallops, but such a simple soup, so reliant on strong beefy and smoky and bacony flavors? No way it would have the same punch.

Well, my friends, I am here to tell you: yes way.



Sorry the pictures are so ugly, but this is pretty much stewed cabbage, after all. My veggie version, while of course not exactly the same, tastes similar enough to mom's original to transport me back to those family meals. It's delicious and just the perfect thing on a cold winter night, especially with some crusty bread, the way our mom always serves it. Since the flavor is so reliant on the broth, make sure you use a good stock. As usual, I recommend Better Than Bouillion. Or you can make your own if you're badass.

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

1 good size yellow onion, chopped
1/2 a medium size green cabbage, shredded or chopped into strips
3 cups veggie broth
3 cups mushroom broth
7 strips fake bacon (Morningstar is best, but it's not vegan)
1-2 cups cooked wild rice blend
1 parmesan rind (optional)
Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast

Directions

First, put a great big pat of butter or earth balance in your soup pot. You're going to carmelize the shit out of those onions; that'll really give the soup some flavor. Stir them around over medium heat for a while - it could take 20 minutes or so - until they get brownish and smell awesome. This is not the place to be stingy with your butter or butter substitute. Cabbage is super good for you anyway so we need to counteract some of that.
Then you can add the cabbage and the stock. If you have a parmesan rind, throw that in too; it will add a real depth of flavor to the soup. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. This is a good time to cook your faux bacon, and crumble it into small pieces (though they don't have to be tiny). Simmer the soup until the cabbage is tender and translucent. Then stir in the bacon and rice, turn off the heat, and remove the parmesan rind, if using.
Stir some grated parmesan or nutritional yeast into your bowl; experiment with how much you like. Whichever you choose, I don't recommend skipping this; the richness it brings is important to my memory of this soup.

Last night I had mine with an apple salad. Cabbage and apple are a classic combination, or so searches on Epicurious would indicate.