Turtle soup (cabbage chowder)

Let green take over!

Hey guys, I hope you are not scared by the title! This dish is not really made with any turtles, but with something turtles like very much – cabbage. The greeny veggie inspired the person that gave this soup its name. My love is the biggest fan of this soup. I can easily say I have made this for him at least a hundred times… and still, he can never get enough 🙂

At its core, turtle soup is a fusion Chowder. Chowder originated as a shipboard dish, when boatmen on a long sea journey carried foods not so easily rotten, such as potatoes and carrots. On port, when they had some fresh milk from cows and fresh clams they just caught,  they’d cook it together and that became the world-known type of soup we call chowder.

Today I wanna share with you this simply addicting soup inspired by chowder, with cabbage which I think it as one of the most oriental vegetables, used in many dishes. Because it is much thinner than thick chowder, which we find it more diet-friendly and guilt-free. You can have it even in the summertime and would not find it greasy.

Ingredients:

• 1 big brown onion
• 8 slice of thin cut bacon
• 1 medium or big cabbage
• 1 lbs white mushrooms
• 3 or 4 Russel potatoes (depends on the size)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 bottle milk (1000cc to half a gallon)
• 1 bottle (2lb/ 907g) chicken broth (could also use beef or vegetable broth)
• 1 can of sweet corn
• 1 can of sweet peas
• some fresh grounded parmesan cheese
• some salt and fresh ground black pepper

Cooking steps:

Step 1. dice the bacon, then put into the pot (use a 5 quarts size pot, at least) over medium heat, check it every three mins and stir it gently, to prevent the oil splash. cook it until slightly burnt (may take around 10 mins) then removed it fast on a napkin to absorb some oil. Put it aside.

Step 2. in the meantime dice the onion, clean the potatoes and cut into small pieces (about 2 cm each). Clean and cut the mushroom into pieces. Clean half of cabbage and cut or just tear cabbage into a smaller size. Prepare another pot and put some water then boil it.  put around 2 teaspoon salt in the boiled water and cook the potatoes 15 mins.

Step 3. scoop some oil out of the pot, leaving only about half tablespoon then put the onion into it, cook onion over medium to small heat with the lid on, check and stir it every 3 mins, until the onion is creamy and watery,  not too brown.

Step 4. when the onion is creamy, put some cabbage into the pot, I recommend putting the part of cabbage with the stem at this time, which will take a little bit longer time to cook but improve flavor. Stir it with onion and put the lid on for few mins, open the lid and check the cabbage is soft and watery, turn the heat to slim and put 1 teaspoon of flour on it evenly, stir it gently for 5 mins. This step will help to fasten the sweet and water of vegetables.

Step 5. put the chicken broth into the pot, turn the heat to high, cook it until it boiled. then turn it to medium heat, put the cooked bacon and mushroom and some cabbage, plus the cooked potatoes into the pot, pour some water from the pot of potatoes, at this moment, full fill the pot almost 80% only, will leave some space for milk. please stir it and put the lid on for 5 mins.

step 6. put half can of sweet corn and sweet pea into the soup, stir it and cook around 3 mins. Make heat slim and pour some milk (around 800 ml) until the soup looks thick white and creamy. Add some salt and black pepper to your taste. If it is too salty you can always pour some more broth or milk.

step 7. scoop the soup into a small bowl, add some Parmesan cheese and some black pepper, you are now ready to enjoy it! Bon appetit! 🙂

P.S This soup can serve 8-10 at one time, but I also like to cook it for two people, just need to take out the quantity right and reheat it every time when I want it. Also, those ingredients (cabbage, corns, peas, and milk) not all be used on the first cook but can be used at the reheat time. It is a very easy -breathy soup that you can put any proportion as you like. but please remember always add milk at the very last step, and heat milk with only slim heat. otherwise, you will lose the nutrition and get little curds.

I wish you enjoy the soup and feel free to add or change any vegetable you like and tell me how is it. happy souping!  

best,
Gabrielle