Old-Fashioned Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

Tick each one off as you go.

• 2 tbsp oil or butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots and 2 celery sticks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 small cabbage (about 700 g), cored and shredded
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 1 ⅔ cups (400 g) canned chopped tomatoes
• 1.5 liters vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp dried thyme, salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar, to finish

Method

1. Soften the base. Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the onion, carrot and celery gently for 8–10 minutes, until soft and sweet. Stir in the garlic for the last minute.
2. Add the bulk. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, thyme and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil.
3. Then the cabbage. Stir in the shredded cabbage, lower to a simmer and cook 20–25 minutes, until everything is tender but the cabbage still has a little life in it.
4. Finish bright. Take off the heat, stir in the cider vinegar and taste — it likely wants more salt and pepper. That splash of vinegar is what makes it sing.
5. Serve. Ladle into warm bowls and serve with crusty bread and butter. Better still the next day.