I don’t know about you and yours, but this has been a fall for soups around our house. Soups are often gluten-free which makes it something we can all share. Such an easy way to have a hot filling meal, full of nutrition, low in calories and on the cheap! Always a bonus as we settle into a slower paced season.

Does any one else have anxiety over an overstuffed refrigerator? I’m not talking like after a huge shopping trip, with more goodies than you can choose from, I’m talking condiments, little bits of this and that left over, slightly wilted veggies, nothing much to eat, but it’s still full? It makes some people, in our house, *crazy*! So looking to reduce inventory and lighten up the produce drawers, mainly a big fat head of cabbage, I decided to make a cabbage soup. Perfect for a windy, blustery day. No one was interested in it, but me…..  until they smelled it cooking.

“Please, sir, I want some more”, quoted from Oliver Twist, was heard more than once.  They aren’t laughing now….

Cabbage and Sausage Soup

1 T. Extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz Aidell’s chicken sausage, split lengthwise and cut into half-moon slices, this habanero green chili one was delicious, you could use kielbasa or the like, instead

1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 head cabbage, cut to preferred size

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery (including some celery leaves), sliced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes, I used a handful of fingerlings that aren’t enough for anything else

1 can tomatoes, with the liquid, 2 would be really nice, too

6 c. gluten-free chicken stock, or as much as needed for your preferred consistency

1 T. dill weed, fresh would have been better, but I didn’t think of that when I was at the store

1 tsp caraway seed

salt & pepper

garnish with whatever fresh herbs you have and need to use, today it was sage

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large soup/stock pot. Add the sausage and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage, onion, garlic, celery and carrots.

Cook the veggies for 10-15 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Stir in the potatoes. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer, stir in dill and caraway, and let cook for as long as you want. The soup will be ready to eat as soon as the carrots and potatoes are tender but it tastes better the longer it simmers. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

If you have an army to feed, you could easily double this recipe and use your entire head of cabbage, but I don’t have that many to feed.  We all had our fill for Sunday lunch. I put a quart in the refrigerator for weekday lunches and a quart in the freezer to see how freezing works.  You could easily leave out the meat and use vegetable broth, or even just water, and make it vegan.  I could see adding some cannelloni beans or barley (if gluten isn’t an issue) to mix it up.  So many options for our predicted long and snowy winter….

Enjoy!