A Soup With Soul

This soup has come a long way since I was inspired years ago by a delicious spiced cabbage soup I enjoyed at a soup and sandwich stand.

I've been tinkering with ingredients, amounts and I'm finally content with the flavour, aroma and colour of this soup. I was never satisfied with the outcome of this soup until this past weekend.

This cabbage soup can certainly be made into a vegetarian one but I doubt one will achieve the same great flavour as this version.

The deal-breaker for this soup, the star, the highlight...Chorizo sausage. All it took was one Chorizo to turn this soup from ho-hum to yum-yum!

I used a mild Chorizo but I did make this spicy with the use of just 1 teeny red chili. Cabbage is the main vegetable here and much like a Minestrone, you can use what other vegetables you have at hand.

However, I would recommend this combo...it works real well and you'll have to take my word for it.

Another aspect of this soup I'd like to underline is the use of V8 vegetable cocktail. This veggie juice is a great way to pack flavour into a soup and it's also a time saver. This soup was ready in 45 minutes.

If you take a look at the progression of photos...I went back into the pot for a generous refill!

Spiced Cabbage Soup

1/3 cup olive oil
1 Chorizo sausage, casing removed and diced
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise then sliced
1 large stalk of celery, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 cups of shredded cabbage
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 whole red chili
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
1 1/2 cups of V8 vegetable cocktail
7 cups of chicken/vegetable stock
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise then sliced

1. In a large pot, add your olive oil over medium-high heat. Add your onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and Chorizo and saute for 7-10 minutes to soften.
2. Add your smoked paprika, cabbage, thyme, garlic, black pepper, red peppers and potatoes and stir to coat all the ingredients with the paprika for a couple of minutes.
3. Add your V8 cocktail, stock, chili and bring to a boil. Cover ajar and reduce to a simmer on medium heat for 30-40 minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add your green beans and zucchini and simmer for 5 minutes to cook. Serve hot.
   

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