Cabbage, Potato and Leek Soup

My latest batch of soup comes from my latest batch of inspiration from Tamar Adler’s book An Everlasting Meal. Her book is filled with chapter after chapter of vibrant prose that feels like her ingredients are leaving the page and entering your own kitchen. She writes eloquently about understated ingredients like cabbage and anchovies, which I believe would inspire any obstinate eater to give them another taste.

For me, I had a sudden urge to cook cabbage. How many people can say that they crave cabbage? Rabbits aren’t people, so they don’t count. The giant cabbage head I bought at the farmers market cost me a whopping $1. Combined with leeks and potatoes from the market and my vegetable stock made from scraps, this recipe came to a grand total of… $3. Economical, graceful, and delicious. That’s what Adler’s cooking is all about. That’s what my kitchen is all about.

This recipe requires a little patience; the soup has to cook for at least an hour to get its savory and deliciously melty flavors. But it doesn’t need much watching. I went down the street to get some more coffee beans and talk to a few friends while it cooked. Double win.

None of the ingredients needs to be exact. I used roughly half my large cabbage head, about eight small potatoes in place of the larger russet potatoes, and the remainders of two large leeks. My potatoes were more tender to begin with, so the soup came together quicker. Taste or squish a potato from the pot to see if it’s ready. As always, the amounts below are merely guidelines; the best kind of cooking allows for liberal adjustments.