Perfectly Seasoned
The podcast about all things culinary.
Perfectly Seasoned
S3 E29 Cabbage Roll Soup
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Cabbage Rolls deconstructed
Hello and welcome to Perfectly Seasoned, the podcast about all things culinary. I'm your personal chef, Greg Strom. Today on Perfectly Seasoned, Cabbage Rolls Deconstructed. Stay tuned. Hello everyone. I am a big fan of cabbage rolls. We grew up on them. And today on Perfectly Seasoned, we are deconstructing the traditional cabbage rolls and turning them into a delicious soup. This cabbage roll soup, I like it because it's less time consuming than trying to do the traditional boiling the cabbage, tearing the cabbage apart, making the rolls, not tearing the cabbage while you're rolling it. So it actually is a very good recipe to get the same results without the time consumed. And joining me on the phone today is guest home cook Diane Strom. She also happens to be my sister-in-law. Welcome back, Dee Dee.
SPEAKER_01Hi, Greg. It's good to be back.
SPEAKER_03I know that your mom was a good cook, but did she make cabbage rolls when you were growing up?
SPEAKER_02Oh yes, she sure did. It it's been a holiday recipe for the family for years, and my children, our children grew up eating them and have thoroughly enjoyed them. And uh that is the benchmark for the kids. They they want to know where grandma's cabbage rolls are.
SPEAKER_03So that then that answers my next question. I'm assuming then that she passed her recipe on down to you.
SPEAKER_02She has, yes indeed.
SPEAKER_03Now have you made any have you made any changes to update it a little bit for your family's tastes, or do they less like grandma's tastes?
SPEAKER_02Well, they they like grandma's tastes, but I have tried a casserole because, like you said, they're very time-consuming and they make a lot generally. So as not to freeze something or have leftovers forever. I've tried various recipes, so I'm not I don't have a bunch of them.
SPEAKER_03I have to know, did you follow this recipe exactly as written and as I instructed?
SPEAKER_02In fact, I did.
SPEAKER_03Okay, good.
SPEAKER_02I I did, but I I I will tell you, I I goofed up on one thing, but yes. Oh, but we'll talk about it as an instruction.
SPEAKER_03So, what are your thoughts about this recipe? And we'll get into that.
SPEAKER_02Good. Ed's looking forward, who of course is your brother. He's looking forward to having this for leftovers for for lunch or even for dinner.
SPEAKER_03So how how was the ease of preparation?
SPEAKER_02Oh my goodness, there's no comparison. This is great.
SPEAKER_03Did did you what was the outcome as far as flavor uh goes for you? I mean, how did it work for you as a soup?
SPEAKER_02Oh, it it's good. I think I might cut down on the the rice just a little bit. I added more broth because I like things a little brothy when I have a soup, and it was kind of it was a little bit more like a stew. It was a little thick, so I just added more beef broth.
SPEAKER_03Did you how did you find the seasoning in this?
SPEAKER_02Oh, seasoning was good. Some, for instance, some things are a favorite for some people and not others. Some people love pepper, some don't. So I just tried to adjust that to what I thought the family might enjoy. I did use smoked paprika, but I have since we purchased some Hungarian paprika because that's what my mother used to make her pigs with.
SPEAKER_03Hungarian paprika, they have three types. They have sweet, hot, and smoky. Cabbage rolls, there are as many recipes as there are mothers and grandmothers to make them.
SPEAKER_02Yes, indeed, Greg.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. So, yeah, because I know your mom's cabbage rolls are probably definitely different than grandma's Ender's. Hers were kind of sweet and sour.
SPEAKER_02Mom's were more sour. We always had it with sauerkraut.
SPEAKER_03Okay, okay. Well, was there anything that you found in this recipe that you were confused by?
SPEAKER_02No, not at all. But I do want to say the addition of the mashed potatoes were a huge hit. That was your recommendation. And I thought, you serve soup over mashed potatoes, but when we ever had cabbage rolls, they were always with mashed potatoes, and it was a hundred percent needed. I I thought it was an excellent addition.
SPEAKER_03At our house growing up, as I'm sure you know, mashed potatoes were mashed potatoes were as common as bread and butter. So we used anytime we had any kind of a noodle soup, mom always would put mashed potatoes underneath it. I I enjoy that.
SPEAKER_02And uh doesn't everyone do that? Doesn't everyone have mashed potatoes with all those things? I think they should. I think they should.
SPEAKER_03I have to tell you the one thing that I discovered, and I was actually well, you actually called me on it to ask me, but I discovered it and I didn't want to say anything. I wanted you to see it, see if you discovered it and how you dealt with it. But in the recipe, there is it doesn't call for brown sugar. In the directions, it says add the brown sugar with the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce, but nowhere does it say how much brown sugar to put in there. So correct. I my my feeling is the ingredients that she put were correct. Now, did you add brown sugar or no? Did you did you? I did not. Yeah, I didn't either. I don't think it really needed it.
SPEAKER_02Nope. I agree. And you know what? I did I did forget something though, because it's an after. When you go to when you serve it, you put the lemon juice in it.
SPEAKER_03Oh, you squeeze the lemon juice, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well and I did not do that.
SPEAKER_03Well, you know that I bought the lemons and forgot it. That can also be a personal taste. What the lemon does, it brightens the flavor a little bit. Technically, it's not it's not gonna change the recipe at all. It's just more of a flavor enhancement at the last minute to kind of bump up the excitement of the taste when it hits your hits your mouth. But I'm sure nobody knows.
SPEAKER_02I am gonna add it. I am when we warm it up, it's definitely gonna have to have some lemon juice.
SPEAKER_03When you look at the uh the picture that is with it, it says it serves eight. I think it could serve more than eight. What did you think?
SPEAKER_02Oh, definitely, especially with the mashed potatoes, definitely. This is a keeper, and I would love to make it again.
SPEAKER_03On a scale of one to five forks, how would you rate this?
SPEAKER_02At least a four, if not a four and a half.
SPEAKER_03You have to do this more often. I have some I'm getting ready to do next season, and I have some I'm looking at some recipes that got your name all over them.
SPEAKER_02So good. All right. Well, thanks for sharing this one with us.
SPEAKER_03Well, you are so keeper, like I said. You are so welcome. You know, now it's the part of the show that's called wine o'clock. And so our resident Somalier, Cynthia, is going to chime in and she's going to she looks at the recipe and she's going to see what kind of wine would pair with it. Thank you so much. And I can't wait to have you back on the show. Let's turn this over to Cynthia, and I'll talk to you again later.
SPEAKER_02All right, thank you.
SPEAKER_03You're welcome. Well, hello, Cynthia. Welcome back.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much. Good to be back.
SPEAKER_03Well, this recipe today, cabbage roll soup, it's the lazy man's version of stuffed cabbage. I want to know what you were gonna serve with it because you know me. I would be just as happy with a nice cold beer as I would with a good glass of wine. So what would you do?
SPEAKER_00You know, yeah. Nice cold beer would probably go very well with this. You know, I was I was looking at the ingredients the tomato, the rich broth, the the beef. So, you know, I would do maybe something like a zinfandel to match the smokiness of the spices and the paprika in there, perhaps. A Barbera d'Asti or a Chianti Classico that has high acidity to match the tomato and the savory components could be really nice as well.
SPEAKER_03Chianti Classico, you you you you hit my soft spot right there. That is my I love a and I love a good Chianti Classico.
SPEAKER_00If anyone wants a white wine, maybe go with a Gruner Veltliner, that Austrian white wine that has great acidity, it goes well with the earthy cabbage. I think that would be a good a good pairing for you.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I think you have mentioned that in the past. We haven't tried it, but I'll I'll post your reminder. Yes, I'll post it. I'll have to I'll post that up with the with the recipe. You have turned us on to the Alberino, the Spanish Alberino, which seems to really it it seems to be a very well-rounded, good with everything. That is our go-to at this point in time. So I really wasn't sure about this because these are things that I wouldn't normally I wouldn't normally think about serving wine with for some reason. I guess it's just because of the way I grew up. We, you know, it was just not something that we did. But good suggestions. I'll include those. If you have any questions about today's recipe or any suggestions for wine that you might want to try, or if you'd like to be a guest home cook on Perfectly Season, please email me at infothesilvershef.net. And of course, I have to thank guest home cook my sister-in-law, Diane, for Didi, for joining us today and preparing this recipe. Also, I have to thank Cynthia once again for coming up to bat here and giving us her pairing choices. And you can listen to Perfectly Season on my website, thesilvershef.net, my Facebook page, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcast. I still have not figured out how to use Instagram, but that's a whole nother podcast. So until the next time, this is your personal chef, Greg Strom, thanking you for joining us today on Perfectly Seasoned. And remember to eat fresh, may the fork be with you, and may all your days be perfectly seasoned.