Sweet Russian Cabbage Soup

In the midst of all the cooking yesterday I wasn’t able to shoot any pictures of the process, but this is an amazing soup that is perfect for the winter-spring transition. It’s light and sweet and has both an Asian and Russian feel to it. It’s also completely customizable and inexpensive. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

Sweet Russian Cabbage Soup

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 1/2 pounds ground lean beef
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 4 cubes beef bouillon
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 quarts water, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Crumble the ground beef into a large pot. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef bouillon cubes, carrots, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour in 1 quart of water, and bring to a boil. Stir to break up the beef while heating. Once the soup comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat.
2. Pour in another quart of water, and return to a slow boil. Add garlic and cabbage. Simmer for 25 minutes, until cabbage is tender. Ladle into soup bowls to serve.

Adjustments We Made:

1. We used honey instead of sugar, as we do with a lot of recipes for nutrition. -Bad choice, should have been sweeter
2. We spiced it up. -Good choice
3. We didn’t use the whole onion. – Good choice
4. We used chicken instead of beef. -Good choice
5. We didn’t peel the carrots, we just sliced them. -Good choice

{image via FoodHoe}