Bess Feigenbaum’s Cabbage Soup
- Total Time
- 3 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 2tablespoons minced garlic
- 1cup minced or grated onion
- 1cup peeled thinly sliced carrots
- 128-ounce can plum tomatoes in purée
- 1cup tomato paste
- ½cup tomato ketchup
- ½cup dark brown sugar
- 1bay leaf
- ½cup lemon juice
- 3pounds cabbage (tough outer leaves, core and ribs removed), sliced into ¼-inch-wide ribbons
- ½cup golden raisins
- Fresh ground (preferably medium grind) black pepper
- Sour cream, optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
218 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 32 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 449 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a 6-quart pot over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and add garlic. Cover and cook until garlic is tender but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add onion, and sauté until translucent. Add 3 cups water, carrots, tomatoes and purée, tomato paste, ketchup, brown sugar and bay leaf. Simmer at a lively bubble for 10 minutes, then crush whole tomatoes with potato masher or fork. Continue to simmer until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
- Step 2
Using an immersion blender, or working in batches with a stand blender, process mixture until it is coarse, not puréed. Return sauce to pot and add lemon juice, cabbage ribbons and 3 cups water. Place over medium-high heat and cook at a lively simmer until cabbage is cooked to taste, from al dente to meltingly soft, 1 to 2 hours. Add 3 to 6 cups water, to thin to desired consistency. Ten minutes before serving, stir in raisins and a few twists of black pepper. If desired, garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream.
Private Notes
Comments
This is a great soup, with a sweet-sour taste. Two tips: a dollop of sour cream is a must. Add a few raisins to each bowl, rather than to the pot. The leftover soup will get too sweet if the raisins are in it.
I really wanted to like this soup, so I tried it twice!
The first time was way too sweet, and only tasted of tomato and sweet, both too strong. Perhaps the lemon is supposed to tame the sweetness, but it doesn't. And the tomato is simply overwhelming!
So I made it again. I didn't blenderize anything; I added less brown sugar and more lemon, doubled the herbs. still too sweet, and the tomato was overwhelming.
There must be a good cabbage soup out there, but this isn't it.
It sounded good, though rather sweet, so I skipped the ketchup, brown sugar, and raisins; it came out tasting great!
Like other comments, I reduced the sugar to 2T and left out the ketchup. 2T white vinegar instead of lemon juice. I did not have any canned tomatoes so I just used about 2 -3T tomato paste. I added some powdered beef broth and that gave a richer taste. I didn't bother blending it didn't seem necessary. I added barley to make the soup a bit thicker. It's cooking right now and so far it tastes pretty good.
My husband loved the Russian Cabbage Soup served at Max’s Opera Cafe in San Francisco. I have tried over the past 25 yrs to make a version that was like Max’s cabbage soup. And here is how I got there: first I made David Tanis’ s Classic Brisket with Caramelized onions. then, made Bess Feigenbaum’s Cabbage Soup. I used .5 the brown sugar, I used my own homemade ketchup, no tomato paste and a 28 ounce can of Cento Whole Peeled tomatoes. I removed the 12 cloves and 3 allspice berries. Delicious!
My mother taught me how to make this soup. She was born on the lower east side in 1908. Brown sugar and sour salt (citric acid) added sparingly and adjusted to taste. Tablespoons of sugar not cups. Tomatoes yes but only a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. Beef stock or buillion cubes. No raisins unless as a garnish. Small beef meatballs made with just rice added can also be added. The trick to great cabbage soup is too adjust the sweet and sour carefully by taste as the soup cooks. I love this
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