Cabbage, Sausage and Potato Soup

Columbus Day weekend and the trees around the neighborhood are at the height of it—maple red and oak gold and the light through them on Sunday afternoon was the specific amber that makes Boston in October feel like you're living inside a painting. I worked Saturday but had Sunday and Monday off and we spent both days outside as much as possible, understanding at a cellular level that this won't last.

Liam is crawling. Not the full commando-style crawl yet but the precursor—he gets on his hands and knees and rocks, and occasionally one limb moves and he's surprised by what happens next. He's going to be fast. I already know this. Sean has begun talking about baby-proofing with the seriousness of a man evaluating a structural problem, which is exactly what he is. He taped foam padding to the coffee table corners on Sunday with the precision of someone who has thought it through.

I made a big pot of beef stew on Sunday—the kind that takes four hours, the kind that fills the apartment. Sean's mother called in the afternoon and when I told her we had beef stew she said "I hope you put dumplings in it" and I said we don't do dumplings in ours and there was a brief silence that communicated several things simultaneously. I told her the recipe I use. She said "that's very similar to mine." I said I know, I learned it from Sean. She said "well then." I think we've arrived at something, Maureen and I. Some kind of accommodation. I find it oddly moving.

My pot was beef that Sunday, but this Cabbage, Sausage and Potato Soup is the recipe I come back to on the Sundays when I want the same effect — something low and slow that makes the whole apartment feel inhabited. It has the same quality as what I made: it’s the kind of pot Maureen would recognize, the kind where the smell does more than the explanation ever could. If you’re in an October that looks like a painting, this is what you cook inside it.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 cups green cabbage, roughly chopped (about 1/2 small head)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add sliced sausage and cook 3–4 minutes per side until lightly browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving drippings in the pot.
Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Build the base. Stir in smoked paprika and caraway seeds if using; cook 30 seconds. Add diced tomatoes with their juices and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add the vegetables and liquid. Add potatoes, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
Add cabbage and sausage. Stir in the chopped cabbage and the reserved browned sausage. Continue simmering 20–25 minutes, until potatoes are fully tender and cabbage is soft but not mushy.
Finish and season. Stir in apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. The vinegar brightens the whole pot — don’t skip it.
Serve. Ladle into deep bowls and top with fresh parsley. Good with crusty bread on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cabbage, Sausage and Potato Soup — The Pot That Filled the Apartment