Cabbage & Sausage Soup

I know, doesn't quite sound like a summer dinner.  But, we had all this in the garden:

At some point, I know I have made a similar soup from a recipe using kale, but I wasn't able to find it, so I just winged it and used what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

1-2T Olive Oil

2-3 Italian Sausage links (I used chicken)

1 Onion, diced

4 Celery stalks, diced (and celery heart)

4-5 Carrots, peeled and sliced

1 Carton chicken broth

2 cans of beans (I used black & great northern/cannelini)

8 Cabbage Leaves

Fresh Herbs (I used parsley & sage)

Seasonings (I used S&P and a little nutmeg)

1T Apple Cider Vinegar

Parm, for serving

Directions:

1. Drizzle olive oil over large soup pot and heat on medium.  Squeeze the sausages out of their casings and crumble with a wooden spoon (pretty gross, I know).  Cook until no longer pink.

2.  I don't chop the veggies up first, I just do it as I go.  Start with the veggies that take the longest to cook and add them as you finish choping.  I do onions, celery and then carrots.  Season with pepper and minimal salt.  Cook until softened.

3.  Add the chicken broth, 2 cups water, and both cans of beans (rinsed & drained).  I also add the herbs I am using and the heart of celery, which gives a lot of flavor & looks like this:

Just throw it in like this & remember to take it out before serving.

4.  Simmer the stock on medium until the veggies are cooked to your liking, probably about 20-25 minutes.

5.  While the soup simmers, prepare your cabbage.  Cut the ribs out:

and chiffonade your leaves like so:

couldn't resist a picture of the ribs, don't they look like little trees?

6.  Now add the cabbage and cook about 5 more minutes or until it is wilted.  Remove from heat and add the apple cider vinegar.

A pretty nice lunch!

Wow, this is really filling for soup!