and winning the least-photogenic award: Cabbage-Potato Soup with Bacon, Beer, Smoked Ham, and Cheddar (16-hour part optional)

I've made this soup a few times, and cooked some up again last week. I'm going to say this right off: this most recent batch did not live up to my standards. I have an explanation, though: I started making it at 3 in the afternoon on Saturday, but still thought I would try cooking it in the crock pot on low. I knew it wouldn't be done in time for dinner, but I figured I'd cool it down and put it in the fridge just before bed, for us to have the next day (and the next, and the next... this recipe makes a lot!) I also hedged my bets and put the chopped potato hunks into the crock pot completely raw. I just really, really didn't feel like boiling water, and told myself that, given enough time, the potatoes would have to soften. Right? Well, NO. At 10pm they were a nice tan color to match the rest of the soup, but were just as tough as when I'd thrown them in. And - the real test - I left the crock pot on low OVERNIGHT - so, for sixteen hours - and the potatoes still might as well have been raw. They would have been okay for a stew intended to be eaten with a knife and fork, but they just didn't cut it for a soup that relies on crumbly baking potatoes to give it a creamy texture.

So, lesson learned, I've been bringing each batch to an almost-boil and letting the potatoes break down for twenty minutes. Then, I whisk in the cheese right before serving. But the instructions I will be providing below are for the non-crock pot version of the recipe. If you use a crock pot, boil the potatoes and cabbage together in water, then drain and add to the crock pot with the other ingredients. Yeah... I think that'll work. And be prepared for your house to smell like CABBAGE!

Note: I end up using two large pots for this recipe - one to boil the potatoes and cabbage, and one to saute the vegetables, to which the rest of the soup is eventually added. If you want, you can use a large skillet for the vegetables and then transfer everything to the pot with the potatoes and cabbage. Just be sure to add some liquid to the vegetables and bubble away any brownness on the vegetable skillet, so you don't lose any flavor.


• 1/2 of medium or 1 entire small head cabbage, chopped into two-inchish ribbons
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 6 oz light-colored beer (I used an entire bottle this last time around and the soup turned out too sweet, so I'm turning it into a teaching moment: easy on the beer)
• 2 strips bacon (optional, but yummy for flavor). If not using bacon, you'll need a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1.5 large onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar (smoked if you can find it!)
• About 48 oz chicken broth
• About 48 oz water
• 3 small baking potatoes

Instructions:

1. Bring the chicken broth and water to a boil with the potatoes in a large pot. Once it comes to a boil, stir in the cabbage and turn down heat to a healthy simmer. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are softened enough to use for mashed potatoes. MEANWHILE...

2. Heat a dutch oven or other big pot (big enough to hold 102 oz of liquid plus all of the solid ingredients in this recipe...) to medium-high heat and fry the bacon. Lower burner to medium; remove dutch oven from heat. Remove the bacon and chop it up. Return the dutch oven to the burner and return the bacon to the dutch oven (which should still be coated with the bacon fat) along with the carrot, celery, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove dutch oven from heat until the potatoes and cabbage are softened.

3. Add the potatoes, cabbage, and their cooking liquid to the dutch oven. Add the smoked ham hock and the beer. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a low simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-2.5 hours or until the potatoes are completely tender and/or disintegrated into the soup, and the ham hock is falling apart.

4. Remove the ham hock, shred, and return the meaty pieces to the soup. Whisk the shredded cheddar into the soup, stirring constantly until way after you think it's all melted. Otherwise, you will end up with fatty cheddar globules.

5. Serve! Your soup will not look as brown as mine did (below), unless you go the insane and regrettable 16-hour crock pot route.

I found some butterleaf lettuce on sale at the Sheridan Fruit Company, so we had a salad with minneola and that chipotle-honey glaze I used on that jicama salad with the soba noodles a couple of weeks back.
Here's what the soup looks like once the potatoes and cheese are properly distributed into the broth: