CABBAGE SOUP (ZUPPA DI CAVALO)

There were so many comments on my Minestrone, I decided to give you another soup recipe. This soup comes from Siena. When I asked the server about the soup, she took me to the chef, he didn't speak a word of English (and my Italian is really not so good!) so he just showed me the ingredients and I translated what he said the best I could! After some adjusting, the recipe below is as close as it gets.

In any garden in Tuscany, you will find black cabbage (cavalo nero) growing. By the first frost, the leaves are tasty and tender. Cavalo nero is a very important ingredient in many of the winter foods of Tuscany. This soup like many of the foods of Tuscany are born of great imagination and little money. These foods are known as la cucina povera or the poor kitchen. The next time you are in Italy, get a soup with every meal and a new world of cooking will open up to you. Maybe I'll write a soup cookbook, so I can test out soup recipes everyday!

Moving along, black cabbage is hard to find in California and kale is the closest thing but not nearly as tender, so I substitute savoy or napa cabbage and since I also grow swiss chard, there is usually a little chard mixed in. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do...

Maybe you would like to have a Tuscan themed party but don't have the time to prepare...I can do that for you, a soup buffet perhaps. A Tasteful Experience.com personally caters to your needs and we are delighted to care for small parties with personal attention to every detail.

CABBAGE SOUP (Zuppa di Cavalo)

2 lbs Savoy cabbage

2 qt Vegetable stock

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 14 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes, drained or

1 lb. roma tomatoes seeded and diced

2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans-rinsed and drained

or 1 ¼ cups dried beans (fully prepared and cooked)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt & pepper

Clean and remove hard stalks and veins from cabbage, chop coarsely. In large stock pot, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery and cabbage, Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to wilt, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, 1 quart of stock, thyme, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining stock and cook covered for another 45 minutes. Add the beans and cook for 15 more minutes. Buon Appetito!