Whenever i forget how special Savoy cabbage is, i just remember how blown away i was last year in Champagne, eating the potee Chamenpoise: the grape-pickers soup-stew, a big pot of meats with carrots, leeks, and tons of Savoy cabbage.
The Savoy cabbage was so tender and silky, its frilly edges slightly textured with each strand tasting like the meat and vegetables they cooked with. The cabbage was juicy with the broth, and lightly sweet with the natural sugars of the vegetable itself; I’ve been a Savoy cabbage devotee ever since. In fact, right now i’m spooning up delicious cabbage soup. someday, someday, i’ll have my foto-skills up-to-date and can share everything with you AT THE VERY MOMENT i’m making/eating/enjoying.
Meanwhile, i’ll tell you how this soup came to be in my pot, and in today’s bowl: Last night, after going through the fridge, and with a view towards low-carb, low-cal, and about 5 min start to finish, I made turkey meatballs: 1 lb ground/minced turkey (with a few spoonsfuls taken out and cooked for the pooches!) mixed with 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 chopped onion, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, a little turmeric, and about 3 tablespoons shredded carrots. Rolled up up into walnut-sized morsel-ettes, then layered them in a pot with whole leaves of Savoy cabbage, sliced onion, and a couple celery stalks, cut up. Chicken broth up to the top, with a sprinkling of turmeric, then simmer simmer simmer until meatballs were cooked through. I went over the 5 minutes mark with this, but didn’t encroach on the 15 minute mark!
The meatballs were delicious; to eat, i lifted them out of the broth and ate them with broccoli and shiitakes in miso. soothing, comfy, low cal and carb!
But TODAY is what i want to tell you about: TODAY i looked at that broth, then i tasted it, and whoa: delicous! cut the cabbage into bite sized pieces, and added a little more for good measure, then cooked it together til the new cabbage was tender. The broth is amazingly rich from the meatballs and golden from the turmeric, tasting like turkey and garlic and carrots; but that cabbage: what can i say? Star of the show.
Go make those meatballs for dinner tonight–so that tomorrow, you too can have that next-day welcome to autumn soup!
With over 70 cookbook titles (including contributions) to her credit, Marlena conjures up flavours and dishes from the Mediterranean to Mexico, California to France to the Italian islands and single subjects such as chili peppers, olive oil, mushrooms, to a book on classic Jewish food from all over the world.
am gonna get that carrot recipe from Mridula: I know that I NEED MORE, they are so delish! and i think that YOU need the recipe too. after all, its autumn, winter is on its way, so wonderful to have another carrot recipe, specially one that can make you (that is, me) turn cartwheels of joy merely thinking of them!
Dear afoodobsession: thank you. and i hope you love your savoy cabbage as much as i love mine. soon i’m going to post my visit to champagne and the potee champenoise, but i was trying to sell the article first before posting it. chances are i won’t sell it, and up it will go onto this blog! the potee is divine! possibly the only thing that can make me look forward to autumn/winter–well, that, plus citrus season, and halloween with all that candy!
no picture necessary…next trip to the market, if there is a nice head of savoy cabbage, i’m making your soup. Beautiful.
finally, Peter, finally i’m able to read/reply on my blog! i hope the soup turned out a zillion years ago when you wrote this. but please visit me again here, ask questions, i’m going to try to be really really up to date and in contact. that spam was a killer. happy easter, i love your postings! xoxoxoxo marlena