Mariner's Cabbage Soup

I don't often make this one, because afterwards, the First Mate usually bans me from the galley (I apparently make a terrible mess!). I particularly like this soup on a cold or rainy day - or a cold and rainy day (like today). There's nothing fancy here, just plain, good food.

Print Recipe

Suggested Equipment:

• Stock pot, 5 quart or better
  
• Cutting board
  
• Knives
  
• Vegetable peeler
  
• Bowls and spoons
  

Ingredients:

1. Or evergreen bunching onions!
   
2. Green or Varicolored. I often substitute sweet or mild chiles
   
3. Truthfully, pretty much any smoked, fully-cooked, link-type sausage will do, but I like to use a beef or turkey sausage.
   
4. This is kind of a minimum. More sausage = Meatier flavor in your soup!
   
5. I usually use Original Mrs. Dash®, but feel free to choose your favorite... or create your own!
   
6. Or to taste...
   
7. More if needed to cover!
   

Item		Amount
Cabbage	Fresh, small head (about 1½ lb)	1	ea
Onion	Fresh, medium	1	ea
Carrot	Fresh, medium	2	ea
Potato	Fresh, medium	3	ea
Celery	Fresh or frozen, chopped	½	cup
Scallions1	Fresh or frozen, chopped	⅓	cup
Bell pepper2	Fresh or frozen, diced	½	cup
Kielbasa3	Smoked links	12	oz4
Salt	Common	1½	tsp
Black pepper	Dry, ground	½	tsp
Cilantro	Dry, ground	¼	tsp
Garlic	Dry, granulated	¼	tsp
Seasoning blend5	Dry, salt-free	½	tsp6
Cayenne	Dry, ground	⅛	tsp
Water		3	qt7

Directions:

1. Wash the cabbage. Peel and discard any ugly leaves. Remove about ¼" (or less) of the bottom of the core, but do not core the cabbage. Cut the cabbage, vertically through the core, into wedges of appropriate size. Each wedge of leaves should be held together by a wedge of core. I sometimes just quarter the cabbage, but usually I cut it into six or so wedges. Place the wedges into the bottom of the sauce pan.

2. I'm not a great fan of onion as a vegetable, so I'm not pleased when I find pieces of onion floating around in my soup. My Honey, however, likes onion as a vegetable, so when I can, I try to accommodate her. Cut away the root and stem parts of the onion; then peel off and discard the outer skin layer. You might have to remove more than one layer to get a decent-looking vegetable. Put the whole onion into the pan with the cabbage, without molesting it further.

3. Wash and peel the carrots and potatoes, then cut them into chunks of whatever size you feel makes them work best. Put the chunks of carrot and potato into the pan. Add the celery, scallions, and chiles to the pan.

4. Cut the sausage into chunks about 1" to 1½" long, and add to the pan.

5. Add the salt, black pepper, cilantro, garlic, seasoning mix, and cayenne.

6. Add water to cover, bring the soup to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer until the cabbage (including the core) is tender.

Serve in bowls, making sure each bowl has several chunks of each component. Mariner's Cornbread is a good companion to this soup. Makes about 10 servings (4 quarts).