Delicious Recipes by Cookin Foods
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🧄 Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, olive oil, or plant butter (see notes)
- 1 Cup carrots chopped
- 5 cups leeks, thinly sliced (about 2 large leeks)
- 8 cups green or Savoy cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces or thinly sliced
- 2 cups russet or yellow potatoes, skins on, small dice (about 2 small potatoes)
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 4 fat cloves garlic, minced (up to 6 for extra garlic flavor)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cans cannellini beans
- 3 Tbsp fresh thyme
- Fresh lemon juice, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Shaved Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)
🔥 Instructions
1️⃣ Sweat the Leeks
- In a large 4-quart Dutch oven or stockpot, heat butter or oil over medium-low until melted and shimmering.
- Add sliced leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until soft with light golden color, about 10 minutes. Watch closely — leeks burn easily.
2️⃣ Cook the Cabbage
- Add cabbage to the pot.
- Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until cabbage wilts and cooks down, 9–10 minutes. (The pot will be very full at first — it reduces significantly.)
3️⃣ Simmer the Soup
- Add garlic, ½ tsp salt, vegetable broth, potatoes, and thyme bundle.
- Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cook:
~20 minutes for fork-tender potatoes - Up to 40 minutes for creamier potatoes that partially melt into the broth
4️⃣ Finish
- Remove thyme bundle.
- Stir in cannellini beans and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
- Simmer 5 minutes to warm through.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
🍽️ To Serve
- Garnish with shaved Parmesan and fresh thyme leaves, if desired.
- Serve with crusty bread or alongside a simple salad.
🧡 Notes
- Salt levels vary widely by broth — if the soup tastes flat, it needs more salt.
- Longer potato cooking = richer, creamier texture without cream.
- Freezes beautifully; thaw overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop.