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Friday, May 16, 2008

Humble Food: Cabbage and Cannellini Bean Stew



It's Friday. Deep Breath. A blissfully and unusually traffic-free drive home from work, a nice long run with a breeze to follow me, a cool shower, and the knowledge that I have two days ahead of me to cook and go about my homework a bit more calmly than usual...

Typing this litany of comforting and lovely things, I realized that I haven't written a "Humble Food" post in a while. At first I thought this might be because spring seems somehow less geared towards classic "humble" stews and simmers of lusciously soothing beans, potatoes, or rice, but then I remembered cabbage. Granted, cabbage is more of fall and winter vegetable, but because winter won't come along for a long time 'round these parts, I had gone ahead and tentatively planted an experimental cabbage in the corner of our spinach patch. Yesterday I found that our lone cabbage had exploded to such gargantuan proportions that it seemed only prudent - for the sake of our baby spinaches - to trim some of the outer leaves... and fix a spring stew!



Cabbage and Cannellini Bean Stew

2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained
1 whole clove
1 onion, chopped
4 slices turkey bacon OR 4 slices smoked style vegetarian soy or tempeh "bacon," chopped
1 ham bone OR 12 oz vegetarian soy "sausage"
2 cups vegetable broth, plus more if desired
1/8 cup parsley
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 medium potatoes, cooked (in the microwave is the most efficient) and cut into 1" chunks
6 cups shredded cabbage
2 T olive oil

~ In a large soup pot over medium high heat, sauce the Turkey bacon or vegetarian "bacon," onion, and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is limp and translucent.
~ Stir in the cabbage, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and steam, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is just tender.
~ Stir in all remaining ingredients, and simmer uncovered for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.
~ Add more vegetable broth if desired, to reach the consistency you fancy.
~ Serve warm - with a nice thick slice of whole wheat baguette!


5 comments:

  1. Love your "humble food" idea - what a comforting meal!

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  2. We could do with a stew like this in Amsterdam, as the warm weather is gone for the time being.

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  3. VeggieGirl, thank you so much! Comforting meals are very much on our menu lately as exams approach... :-)

    CookieMouse, this is me trying to send some warm stew and warm weather your way! :-)

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  4. This sounds like a really pleasant, hearty meal. Yum.

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  5. Sally, thank you so much! I do love hearty, soothing dishes - even in springtime! :-)

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