Pride of Erin Soup ♥ with Cabbage, Potato & Kale

A perfect soup for St. Patrick's Day or for that matter, any chilly winter day. It's a simple cabbage soup, just fresh cabbage plus potato and kale in a gentle blend of chicken stock and milk for the broth.

Fresh & Seasonal, Perfect for Late-Winter. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Fat.

Skip Straight to the Recipe

Glorious, This.

Ah, so wholesome, so so delicious! I'll say no more: a simple soup requires no adornment, no rhapsody. But don't skip the cheese, it's a tiny amount and creates great taste and texture contrast while adding few calories.

If you have an abundance of kale, this soup is stunning. The combination of cabbage and potato makes for something both sweet and creamy, even if the milk is skim milk not cream. The greens add color and heartiness.

Glorious, this.

Cabbage Makes Wonderful Soup

Cabbage adds a sweetness that's just captivating in soup. Here are a few more recipes with cabbage, all magnificent.

Cabbage & White Bean Stew
Peasant Cabbage Tomato Soup
Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup

---

Just updated. First published way back on Day 340 in 2006!

PRIDE of ERIN SOUP with CABBAGE, POTATO & KALE

Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Makes 6 cups

CABBAGE
Boiling water to cover
16 ounces (1 pound) chopped cabbage

COOKING LIQUID
2-1/2 cups chicken stock
2-1/2 cups skim milk

SOUP
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon caraway
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 medium potato, skin on, diced
2 cups chopped kale or other leafy green
Drained Cabbage
Cooking Liquids
Salt & pepper to taste

GARNISH
Stinky cheese such as blue cheese or gorgonzola (don't skip this)

CABBAGE Pour boiling water over cabbage, cover tightly and let rest until needed. Drain well.

COOKING LIQUIDS Bring the stock and milk just to a boil in the microwave but don't allow to actually boil. Watch the window!

SOUP In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter with the caraway. Add the onion and let soften, stirring often. Stir in the flour, let cook 1 minute. Stir in the potato and kale, let cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the Drained Cabbage and stir well to blend. Add the hot Cooking Liquids.

Adjust the heat to maintain a slow simmer (this took several adjustments, you don't want the milky mixture to boil) and cook until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Do a few spurts with an immersion blender, creating a creamy base but leaving texture and chunks. Taste and season to taste with salt and pepper – it'll need quite a lot of salt if your chicken stock is homemade.

TO SERVE Transfer to serving bowls, sprinkle with a few bits of a cheese.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
CABBAGE A bag of coleslaw is convenient and does work but I prefer the texture and sweetness that comes from chopping fresh cabbage.
PARCOOKING One of the things that I love about blogs vs print magazines and printed cookbooks is that there is both space and inclination to explain WHY an unusual technique is used. For this recipe, the inspiring recipe gave no indication why the cabbage is soaked in boiling water for a few minutes. I suspect – just based on experience – that it might remove a little bitterness from the cabbage. Or it's to mostly cook the cabbage without the presence of milk, which you don't want to boil. Or it could be for this old-fashioned reason, a tip shared by a 98-year old reader, see Dear Anonymous: This Is Why We Blog.
CAN THE RECIPE BE STREAMLINED? Yes, I think so. I would start off by sautéeing the onion and cabbage together, then add the caraway and flour and cook for just a minute to cook off the floury taste. Then I would add the stock (not the milk, yet) and potato and bring to a simmer, then let simmer until the cabbage and potato are cooked. Then I'd add the kale and let simmer until the kale is cooked, then add the milk and bring back to a boil, without letting the liquid boil. Season and have at it!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 131 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 7mg Cholesterol; 50mg Sodium; 22g Carb; 4g Fiber; 9g Sugar; 7g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 5 & Freestyle 3 & myWW green 3 & blue 3 & purple 3 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 3/4 cup (5g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted Pride of Erin Soup from Bon Appetit, June 1995

---

Still Hungry?

NEVER MISS A RECIPE!

For "home delivery" of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here.
Once you do, new recipes will be automatically delivered straight to your e-mail In Box.

More Hearty Soup Recipes

~ Oven-Cooked Lentil Soup ~
~ 15-Bean Soup ~
~ Quick Green Chile Stew ~
~ more soup recipes ~
~ Seasonal Soups & Salads – March ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Hamburger Soup ~
~ At Last! Black Bean Soup ~
~ Homemade Lentil Soup ~
~ soup recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

Seasonal Eating: Late Winter Across the Years

Mâche with Orange Cumin Dressing Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice Broccoli Rabe with Peppers Cabbage Sprouts Pride of Erin Soup (< this week's St. Patrick's Day favorite!) Wine-Glazed Brussels Sprouts Alsatian Cabbage The Danger of Convenience: Birdseye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables Potato & Poblano Pepper Gratin Farm Pie with Whole Wheat & Lard Crust Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad Parsnip Pear Purée Chayote Soup with a Kick Baked Sweet Potatoes (< hello, meal prep) Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries Spinach Pancakes Crazy-Good Cooked Cabbage

---

Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables. Join "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2006, 2013 (repub) & 2020