Cabbage and White Bean Soup

After overcommitting my time and eating too many gingerbread cookies and tea ring rolls over the holidays, I knew I needed to make a quick, easy, and extra healthy recipe for the blog this week. Since it's been a little snowy and blowy here in the Midwest, I also wanted this week's recipe to be warm and hearty.

Thinking back on my favorite winter recipes from last year, I remembered a turkey and cabbage soup that my mom made last Thanksgiving. This was the soup I needed this week: easy, flavorful and delicious. In my rendition of her soup, I wanted to sub the turkey for a vegetarian option and make the dish more flavorful. I decided on replacing the turkey with white beans and adding fennel, oregano and parmesan to make these dreams come true.

Let me know what you think of the recipe and don't forget to follow the sustainability tips below!

Time: 40 minutes

Makes: about 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 2 large carrots

• 1 medium fennel bulb

• 1 28-oz can fire-roasted whole plum tomatoes

• 1 small head green cabbage

• 1 parmesan rind (optional)

• 6 cups vegetable broth

• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans

• 1 tablespoon oregano, minced

Steps

1. Mince garlic and coarsely chop onions, fennel, carrots and cabbage. Set aside. Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add minced garlic, onions, carrots and fennel. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. 

2. Use your hands to rip up the canned tomatoes into 1-inch pieces and place them in the pot. Pour the tomatoes’ canning liquid into the pot as well. Add the chopped cabbage, parmesan rind (if using), vegetable broth and salt and turn the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes. 

3. Add the beans and their canning liquid, along with the minced oregano to the soup. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the beans are warmed through. Serve with extra oregano and grated parm and slurp up!

Sustainability Tips

• Fresh vegetables: Make this soup when all the veggies are in season in late fall or winter. This will make it easier to buy locally and organically, which will cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from travel and nasty pesticides. 

• Canned tomatoes and beans: Ideally, you could have canned your own beans and fire-roasted and canned your own tomatoes when they were in season during the summer. However, buying organic canned tomatoes and beans is another great option. Don't forget to recycle the aluminum cans!

• Broth: Using homemade vegetable broth is the most sustainable option here. That way, you can make sure you're using organic and/or local ingredients and put your veggie scraps to good use.