I feel a little silly posting a recipe with “winter” in the title, when there is only a week (officially) left of winter to go for the year, but this recipe I’ve made a handful of times over the past few months and I didn’t want to miss out on sharing it! I don’t tend to eat soups for six months of the year (say, roughly, Oct – March), but I feel this year I have certainly posted my fair share of autumn and winter soup recipes! Possibly a light and brothy soup recipe might appear in spring, but for the most part, thick, rich and creamy soups will be making way for lighter fare, but until then…
I first made this soup a few months ago after green cabbage kept appearing weekly in my seasonal veggie box. As this glut of cabbage started to stockpile, I realised how completely unprepared I was… Where were all the cabbage recipes in my repertoire? I did my best though: made some okonomiyaki, slaw, stirfries, and then when yet another cabbage showed up on my doorstep I began feeling a little overwhelmed. When my friend (Phillipa again!) suggested I cook a cabbage and potato soup, blend it up and top it with parsley, I thought “why not”? The idea of cabbage soup had only existed in my mind as a crazy diet food, but I would be willing to give it a shot if it meant being a little closer to beating the cabbage influx. I went home that night and I remembered this recipe by the wonderful Laura Wright that had appeared in my Pinterest last summer (when it’s winter up north). Inspired by her liberal use of mustard, lemon and nutritional yeast, I made a zippy little number that is both creamy (in a chowder-inspired way, due to the addition of white beans) and zesty enough to brighten up your winter blues.
Don’t despair: this is not cabbage soup as diet food (I would never do that to you!), and nor is it overly sulferous in an depressingly-over-cooked-cabbage kind of way. The cabbage retains its sweetness due to its very short cooking time, and the result is a great base to showcase all the lemon and mustard goodness. Thankfully it’s no longer the height of cabbage season, but luckily they’re still around to make this soup. x
White Winter Chowder with Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 4-6.
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
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White Winter Chowder with Roasted Cauliflower
220g | 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
5 tbls olive oil
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
450g potatoes, 1.5cm chunks
1.5 L | 6 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp sea salt (+ more to taste)
400g | half a cauliflower, cut into small florets
220g | 1.5 cups cooked white beans (tinned is fine)
400g | 1/4 of green cabbage, shredded
1.5 tbls dijon mustard
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbls nutritional yeast
Black pepper, to taste
Fresh flat leaf parsley, finely sliced, to serve.
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Set your oven to 220C.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the onion in 3 tbls of olive oil for 5 min, stirring regularly. Add the garlic, celery and thyme cook for a further few min till fragrant. Crank up the heat and add the potatoes and stock, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Remove lid and turn down to a simmer for 20-25 min till potatoes are cooked through.
Whilst the potatoes are cooking, prepare the roasted cauliflower: Spread the cauliflower over a large baking tray, and drizzle with the final 2 tbls of olive oil and toss to coat them well. Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven for 15 min. Toss them with a spatula and return to the oven for a final 10-15 min till golden brown.
Bring the soup back up to a boil and add white beans and cabbage, cooking for a final 5 min till cabbage has softened.
Remove from heat and use a stick blender to purée the soup (or carefully blend in small batches in an upright blender). Stir in the mustard, lemon zest and juice, and nutritional yeast. Taste and adjust to your liking – depending on your stock, you may need more salt or lemon. Add freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and a scoop of roasted cauliflower.
Soup will keep airtight refrigerated for up to 5 days. Freezes well. Cauliflower is best the day of roasting, but will keep airtight refrigerated for up to 5 days.
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