Cabbage soup is a versatile dish with various regional variations. The Portuguese version, featuring kale, potatoes, and sausage, is considered a classic. Cabbage’s hardy leaves are perfect for long, slow cooking, and it can be boiled in coconut milk in Africa or paired with shaved beef in Brazil’s caldo verde. In the US, vegetarian and chicken variations are popular.
Cabbage soup is a soup that has cabbage as one of its main ingredients. The cabbage plant is hardy and grows in many areas of the world. Depending on the area where the cabbage grows and the local culinary traditions of that area, the soup can take on different characteristics. The version that is often considered the classic cabbage soup comes from Portugal. Portuguese kale soup features cabbage, potatoes, and sausage cooked in chicken stock.
The strong flavor and thick, meaty leaves of a cabbage plant make them perfect for long, slow cooking. By boiling the leaves in liquid, most of the vitamins and minerals are preserved and the water or broth is flavoured. Cooking cabbage this way also softens the leaves so they’re easier to eat and digest.
Traditional Portuguese Cabbage Soup starts by sauteing the onions, chilli and garlic. A Portuguese sausage called linguica is added to the oil for sautéing. Numerous other ingredients are added, including potatoes and tomatoes. Water and chicken stock are added along with the beans and finally the cabbage. This whole soup is brought to a boil and then simmered for 20 to 30 minutes.
In Africa, especially Southeast Africa, cabbage may be boiled in coconut milk. The resulting soup later added ground peanuts and spices. This is poured over rice to be eaten or can be served over ugali, a type of cornmeal mush.
Brazil has a classic dish called caldo verde, which means green soup in Portuguese. It is almost identical to Portuguese Cabbage Soup, except the shaved beef is replaced by sausage. The robust taste of kale greens is not lost when paired with the shaved beef in this dish.
In Kashmir, cabbage is harvested slowly throughout the season, causing the plant to produce more leaves than usual. The leaves are used in a simple cabbage soup made with water, salt and oil. This soup is served with rice or meat.
Variations of cabbage soup in the United States include a vegetarian soup that replaces the meat with firm tofu or simply does without the meat and its substitute. Kale is also often added to vegetable soup to give it extra body and nutrition. Other popular variations are chicken soups that include finely chopped cabbage and bean soups that integrate the distinctive cabbage flavor into a rich base.
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