Polish Cabbage Roll Soup

Chef John's cabbage roll soup tastes exactly like Polish-style cabbage rolls, because it has all the same ingredients. This delicious and comforting one-pot soup satisfies the exact same craving, but involves a fraction of the work.

Calories

231

Carbohydrates

46g

Protein

22g

Potassium

208mg

Fiber

3g

Sugar

5g

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 pound ground beef
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth, plus more as needed
3 cups canned crushed or puréed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water, plus more as needed
2 1/2 pounds green cabbage, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup long grain white rice
3/4 cup chopped Italian parsley, divided

Direction

Set a soup pot over medium-high heat and melt butter. Add onion and salt, and cook, stirring, until onions turn soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add ground beef and cook, stirring and breaking up large clumps, until meat is browned and broken into small crumbles, about 5 minutes.
Season with garlic, black pepper, cayenne, and bay leaf; cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour in beef broth, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Stir in cabbage, reduce heat to medium, and cook until cabbage is just tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour in tomatoes and water, and continue to simmer, 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir in rice and half the parsley; simmer over medium heat until rice is tender and soup thickens, about 20 minutes. If soup becomes too thick as it simmers, add a little more beef broth and/or water. Season to taste with salt.