Ingredients
- 1-2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium cabbage, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup raw lentils, or barley, or millet
- OR 1 can precooked beans (any sort will do)
- 1-2 envelopes of vegetable soup mix (like Liptons)
- 6-10 cups of water
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- miscellaneous vegetables to suit your fancy: potatoes, frozen corn, green beans,
- red/green/orange/yellow peppers, coarsely chopped spinach, carrots....
- miscellaneous herbs/spices to suite your fancy: oregano, bazil, bay leaf,
- majoram, curry
- and whatever else you have that seems like it would taste good.
This recipe developed from the "Cabbage Soup Diet" soup that an old roommate used to do from time to time. We disagreed over the health risks of the diet, but both agreed that the soup was delicious. This soup really is everlasting. I make up a huge stock pot of it and leave it in the fridge, adding more fresh stuff as the week goes by. I stay away from using vegetables like Broccoli & Cauliflower because they aren''t as nice if they get overcooked. The beans & potatoes, and pasta if you add it, tend to dissolve over time and after the third or fourth day the soup gets really thick and stew-like. I don''t know for sure how long the soup will last before it stops looking like an appealing meal, we''ve always finished it by the 5th day. Here are the instructions:
In a really large pot, heat a Tbsp of oil & fry up the onion, & then the cabbage until tender. (You don''t need to do this - if you are worried about that little bit of oil just add the raw beans/lentils & water & bring them all to the boil - I think that onions always taste better if they are fried first, but that is just me) Add the lentils/raw beans & about 6 cups of water. Bring to the boil & cook until lentils are just tender. Add soup mix, tomatoes, spices, herbs & vegetables. Vary the order - veggies like carrots take longer than spinach. Vegetables can be added later, and be cooked as the soup reheats. Likewise, seasonings can be changed later as well.
This is a very flexible soup, and very cheap. The more starchy stuff you put in the more filling the soup will be - textured soy protein & a bit of soy sauce makes a good addition as well.
Have fun!
Serves: too many to count
Preparation time: 30-45 minutes