Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup

Adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Cookbook.

Serves 4-6

SMOTHERED CABBAGE

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 green cabbage, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced

• Sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

RICE AND SMOTHERED CABBAGE SOUP

• Smothered Cabbage – see above recipe

• 4 cups of chicken stock or beef stock + more as needed

• 2/3 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

• Sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

SMOTHERED CABBAGE

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, stir to coat, and cook until it has softened and started to turn a golden color. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another minute or two. Next, add the cabbage and turn it over a few times to coat it with the oil, and cook for 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and the vinegar. Stir to combine.

Lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, stirring occasionally and scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan that start to get stuck. If you run out of liquid in the pan, you can add a few tablespoons of water. Once it is done cooking, taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve or proceed to the next recipe and make it into a soup.

RICE AND SMOTHERED CABBAGE SOUP

In a large pot, heat all the smothered cabbage and 4 cups of broth on medium-high until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, add the rice and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium to keep the soup at a slow and steady, gentle boil.

Stir it from time to time and cook until the rice is tender but still has a bite to it , about 20-25 minutes. If the soup gets too thick, you can add more broth to thin it out, but know that this is a dense, risotto-like soup.

When the rice is done, remove the pan from the heat and mix in the butter and Parmigiano Reggiano. Taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Scoop soup into individual bowls, drizzle with olive oil, a little more freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and black pepper.