Pasta & cabbage soup
It's - let's say - Thursday night. Or even a bad Tuesday. It's been a bit of a week. The world’s a fuckshow. It's cold outside. Your brain's fried. You've got some time but not much energy. You want to cook something satisfying, but buggering about is exceedingly off the table.
You know who's got your back? A thousand generations of Italian grandmas, that's who.
Also Rachel Roddy. Her writing in the Guardian opened my eyes to a world of Italian soups and her book Two Kitchens, raised my lasagne game forever. It’s really good.
Let's do this.
Today’s recipe is more or less an amalgam of two of her soups, and a neat low-hassle way to make dinner.
In one of them, you simmer parmesan rinds into the broth. This tastes amazing, but doesn't go down so well with a lactose intolerant boyfriend, so I've modified slightly. If it's a dietary option for you, bung in a rind after the water.
Either way, the end result is still a silky, cheesy, carby dream, and it's bursting with brassicas. What's not to love.
This takes about an hour with not much hands-on time, so it's become a bit of a midweek go-to. Fairly cheap, as well.
Ingredients:
Cabbage (white or savoy), half a decent one or about 500g
Onions, 1 large
Sausages, 400g or so
Orzo, 200g
Parmesan, 50g (see note)
Garlic, 3-4 cloves
Optional depending on the sausages: a hefty pinch of herbs, probably thyme, oregano, and fennel seeds
Serves 4 generously.
Notes:
Sausages: Anything works, and plain is fine. But herby and seasoned work better, so consider adding a pinch of thyme and fennel seeds if you’re using mild ones. If in doubt, Lincolnshire sausages and extra herbs.
Parmesan: As discussed, lactose intolerant boyfriend. Substitute 100g of Lactofree Mature Cheddar. I don’t have a better idea - most vegan cheeses don’t melt well, and many that do taste like Dairylea’s uglier cousin. Please leave a comment if you’ve fond one that’s nicer than chewing an old gym sock!
Instructions:
Quarter the cabbage, and slice 2 quarters (or about 500g) finely. Slice the onion finely too. Slice the garlic.
Remove the sausages from their casings, and break the meat into chunks. Fry it off in a pan with a little oil at medium heat for about 10 mins until a bit coloured. Stir as it cooks, to break it up so you get something like extremely coarse mince.
Remove the sausage meat and put it to one side, keeping the oil and any juices.
Reduce the heat a bit and add the onion. Fry for 8 mins or so to soften, stirring occasionally. Then add the cabbage and garlic. Again, work this around a bit, softening, for 6-7mins. Give it some more oil if it seems a bit dry. Or butter. Can't go wrong with butter.
When the cabbage has softened but not coloured, add the sausage back in, and pour over 1.8L of water. That sounds weirdly exact, but don't worry, it’s just the upper marker on my kettle. Ballpark is fine.
Bring it to a low simmer, and cook, covered, for 25 mins.
Raise the heat slightly, add the pasta, and continue simmering - uncovered this time for another 10 mins.
Stir in the cheese and amalgamate thoroughly. If it seems a little thin, simmer a bit longer. Otherwise take it off the heat and give it a few minutes to cool and for the pasta starch to thicken it slightly, then serve with a generous grate of black pepper.
This keeps well, but the pasta does mean it thickens with time, and the pasta cooks more with each reheating.