Make Ahead
Marcella Hazan's Rice & Smothered Cabbage Soup
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129 Reviews
Judi L.
May 21, 2023
So easy and definitely not underwhelming. This is an outstanding recipe but, that being said, anything coming from Marcella Hazan is outstanding.
Hillary K.
March 6, 2023
Soooooo good. I prepped the smothered cabbage on a Sunday so I could have quick weeknight meal. This came together quickly and delicious depth of flavor. I may throw a parm rind in w the rice next time I make this just to enhance it. So easy and so good.
jcrcooks
February 13, 2023
This is an outstanding dish! I made some "healthy" & vegetarian modifications- I used 32 oz of a quality vegetable broth (I like Kitchen Basics), & used short grain brown rice instead of white Italian Arborio. To make this modification one has to cook the rice for 45 minutes & blend some of the rice to get starch release...
lulu7
February 6, 2023
I just made this recipe with a red cabbage that I needed to use, a leftover parmesan rind and really good reduced home made chicken broth I had in the freezer. I think the negative reviews is due to not having good stock and the parmesan rind really adds some flavor. I is a simple super satisfying dish which I am very happy to have made. Already had 2 bowls of it. The red cabbage may not make it the prettiest dish but I loved it.
Kim W.
February 7, 2022
Perfect. I used regular green cabbage and added half a lemons worth of juice at the end per another recommendation on another recipe site that I would quote if I could find it…definitely use the Parmesan rinds if you have them and be generous with the salt and pepper during the cabbage braising helps build complexity.
Kellia B.
November 12, 2021
Delicious! It’s amazing how simple yet flavorful this soup is. Definitely going in the regular cold weather soup rotation.
Melissa
August 15, 2020
I've made this many times over the years for myself; and for friends and family; everyone loves it. It's so simple, yet comforting, and complex and tastes even better the next day. I feel like the people who found it bland may not have seasoned it appropriately.
Irene C.
June 17, 2020
OMG!! What a wonderful soup! I have made the smothered cabbage before and had 1 1/2 C frozen so decided to try the soup. After defrosting i added 2 C water with better than boullion chicken paste(had no homemade stock on hand) and long grain jasimine rice since that's all i had. (and some grated parma) HEAVENLY!! so comforting and flavorful!!! ALSO-RE: the Smothered Cabbage; it only takes an hour or less rather than the 1 1/2 hr in the recipe.
Tam
May 26, 2020
Wow it's a lot easier than I thought. I chopped all by hand and it was quick. I added about another cup of water in the soup, my risotto was old, so maybe tougher and took a little longer to cook. So yummy. I could see a thick slice of cheezy toast topping on this soup. Thank you.
rlsalvati
April 26, 2020
Smothered cabbage is my favorite thing to do with cabbage, I usually stop at that point and forego the soup. If you have a red cabbage, be sure to turn off the heat as soon as the cabbage is ready or you risk losing the color. Smothered cabbage is a great main dish with some grated parmesan or, if you want a meat, with pork roast.
Taylor S.
April 10, 2020
I have made this many, many times over the past 6 or so years and it never disappoints!! So tender and comforting with numerous layers of flavor built in.
Julieek
March 3, 2020
This is outstanding! I made it with a high quality carton of beef broth - a whole quart - and some additional water. I wanted more of a soup and less of a risotto. I can't imagine only using a can of broth and diluting it. I added the additional liquid gradually as though I were making risotto. This kind of reminded me of French onion soup with cabbage! I added a bit more red wine vinegar, as well.
Jackie F.
February 13, 2020
After following the recipe, I am quite astonished that this dish gets so many good reviews. I found it to be truly unremarkable. If you have any doubts, and you should if you've read many of the reviews, don't prepare this unless you don't mind the idea that after 2 hours you may be greatly disappointed and wished you'd prepared the cabbage in some other way. At least it isn't an expensive loss. But hey- many people love it - so maybe you'll be in that camp. The upside for me is I know now it's unlikely I will ever need to cook cabbage for that length of time again!
Angela C.
December 29, 2021
I too was disappointed. I made it because I love cabbage and rice but I don't taste the depth of flavor i was expecting. Maybe it'll be better tomorrow?
bellly
January 15, 2020
This was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever cooked. Very unexpected. So simple, so good and savory.
(I splurged on some Kettle and Fire beef broth, and used Irish butter and jasmine rice. I used half of an onion which ended up being more than half of a cup, and then used about a TBS and a half of garlic. Mine ended up having more of the consistency of a rice casserole since I didn’t add more liquid.)
(I splurged on some Kettle and Fire beef broth, and used Irish butter and jasmine rice. I used half of an onion which ended up being more than half of a cup, and then used about a TBS and a half of garlic. Mine ended up having more of the consistency of a rice casserole since I didn’t add more liquid.)
ChristinaJean
October 29, 2019
I have loved this recipe for years, and can't imagine why it doesn't have a higher rating on here. I've made it with and without the rice, with and without chicken thighs, with and without beans, and all the variations I've tried yield a tasty, low-cost, and pretty easy meal.
Terri S.
April 29, 2019
Wow. I REALLY wanted to like this, but I am completely underwhelmed. I spent several hours this morning preparing it exactly according to the recipe (I used beef stock from a carton and red wine vinegar). I'm so disappointed. I actually dumped the bowl I had served up (to myself) back into the pot after a couple bites, then started adding anything I could grab to salvage it (spices: paprika, chipotle, coriander, dill, bay), plus two cans of diced tomatoes and a ton of leftover shredded cuban pork. It is simmering away and I hope it will be more palatable. I sincerely have no idea how this recipe got such rave reviews--it was completely bland, and frankly, I could not even eat a bowl of it. The cabbage and onions had definitely caramelized. I used good butter and organic stock. I just don't know what to say...
Jojo
February 20, 2019
I have to admit that i don't think I've ever cooked a less photo worthy dish. I was sceptical chopping the cabbage, sceptical after an hour and 30 minutes of sauteeing and it still looking meh (I actually ended up throwing it in the crock pot to finish because i had to go to bed and i figured it couldn't possibly get worse). The following day i made the soup, still sceptical plating it - right up until the point i lifted that first delicious morsel up to my mouth. As my tastebuds exploded into the most beautiful gastronomic harmony and i finally realized what all the fuss was about. I loved this and will definitely make again!
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