Filled with nostalgic sweet and sour flavours, this delicious vegan cabbage and tomato soup with rice is substantial enough to be a meal in itself. A wonderfully comforting recipe.
I seem to be in a very nostalgic mood recently. This soup is the love-child of two of my early food memories.
Stuffed cabbage
The first is holishkes – stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce that are traditionally served on Succot, the Jewish harvest festival. Each cabbage leaf is filled with a mixture of minced meat and rice, and folded/rolled around it. They’re baked under a layer of sweet and sour tomato sauce, and are utterly delicious.
These days I don’t eat meat, although I have been known to make vegetarian holishkes with rice and mushrooms. Really though, it’s the cabbage-tomato-sauce-sweet-&-sourness that I love. I don’t miss the meaty part at all.
Memories of tomato soup with rice
The second childhood food memory is tomato and rice soup. I had thought that it was just trendy in the 1980s, rather than being particularly Jewish. However a little research suggests that’s it’s Polish/Eastern European in origin, so it may well have Ashkenazi significance after all. Who knew?!
Cabbage & tomato soup with rice – a winning combination
I wanted to combine all the flavours of holishkes AND tomato-rice soup, into a tasty, chunky, comforting bowlful, and I think I have succeeded.
The shredded cabbage and rice give this soup a lovely chunky texture, and the flavour is deliciously sweet and sour, and rich and deep with tomatoes.
Ingredients for cabbage and tomato soup
This is a great soup to make when you don’t have a lot in! Most of the ingredients are store-cupboard staples, plus a cabbage. I always have onions and lemons ‘in stock’ but you can replace the fresh lemon juice with bottled lemon juice or even white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if necessary.
To make a pot of of tasty cabbage and tomato soup with rice, you will need:
- Cabbage – of course!
- Onion – for savoury deliciousness.
- Olive oil – to sauté/fry and add body to the soup.
- Tinned tomatoes – a great pantry staple!
- Rice – I like brown basmati but honestly any kind of rice is good in this soup.
- Vegetable stock – from a cube/powder is fine, or just use water or water with a little miso stirred in.
- Sugar and lemon juice – for the sweet and sour flavour.
Lunch or dinner
My daughter Kipper and I had this cabbage and tomato soup for dinner with some toast (which she enjoyed dunking immensely) and I’ve been eating leftovers for lunches. The rice does keep on absorbing liquid, so you may need to add a little hot water when you reheat it – unless you like soup you can stand your spoon up in!
To blend or not to blend…?
Although Kipper thoroughly enjoyed dunking toast, she wasn’t so excited about eating the rest of her soup with a spoon. Until I blended some of it for her – that changed everything!
Once blended, the soup was thick and rich, as you might expect. I prefer it chunky but you’re welcome to enjoy it either way.
This made four generous servings of sweet and sour cabbage and tomato soup with rice.
Want deliciously easy, family-friendly recipes like this one delivered straight to your inbox? Click here to sign up. (Of course, I’ll never pass on your email address to anyone.)
📖 Recipe
Sweet and sour cabbage and tomato soup with rice
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium cabbage (around 550g/19-20oz)
- 2-3 tablespoon oil
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Juice of half a lemon
- 100 g rice
Instructions
- 1 medium onion, 1 medium cabbagePeel and slice the onion. Trim off the outer leaves from the cabbage, and remove and discard the core. Shred the rest of the cabbage finely and rinse well.
- 2-3 tbsp oilHeat the oil in a large pan over a low-medium flame. Cook the onion and cabbage for 5-10 minutes, sitrring occasionally, until softening and starting to just brown.
- 500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock, 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp sugar, Juice of half a lemonAdd the stock, tomatoes, sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- 100 g (½ cup) riceStir in the rice, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and allow to stand for a while before reheating to serve.Note: The rice will continue to absorb liquid even once it is cooked. You may need to add more hot water to reach your preferred ‘soupy’ consistency before serving.
Nutrition
More delicious soup recipes
If you love a hearty soup, you’ll love this delicious mushroom soup with freekeh, this easy butternut squash and lentil soup, this creamy vegan courgette and potato soup, and this deliciously savoury miso mushroom barley soup.
More tasty rice recipes
For more yummy ways to use rice, take a look at this vegan Iraqi tebit-inspired rice, this colourful roasted vegetable rice pilaf, or this gorgeously creamy no-stir baked mushroom risotto.
Angilee
Loved it! I think I diced the cabbage to small or had a huge cabbage because I felt like it was a lot of cabbage…I ended up doing 1 thing of chicken broth, 2 tomatoes, 2 tsp sugar, 2 C rice, 1 lemon. Served with bread! Yummm!
Helen
So glad you enjoyed it Angilee!
Sarah Klinkowitz
I would totally make this – some of my family like the cabbage, some only like the sauce and meat. This is perfect!
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
I always think that lemon juice in soup makes such a difference as it really lightens the dish. For some reason I have a packet of economy rice in the cupboard that is really not that good as rice, but I think would be excellent as a filler in soup!
thank you for entering #CreditCrunchMunch
Helen
Thanks Helen. I add lemon juice to everything! A squeeze at the end of a risotto is delicious, or over anything slightly oily or heavy. It just adds a delicious freshness. Glad you’ve found a use for the economy rice!
Jo's Kitchen (@Jos_Kitchen)
Thank you for entering #SuperSoup!
Helen
Thanks Jo!
Lisa
Oh my. That sounds lovely and comforting. Thanks for sharing with NCR. The roundup will be posted in the next day or so.
Helen
Thanks Lisa, and thanks for hosting 🙂
Jo's Kitchen (@Jos_Kitchen)
This looks yummy! Thank you for linking up to #SuperSoup
Helen
Thanks Jo. And thanks for hosting!
kerrycooks
No nostalgia for me here but it looks delicious!
Helen
Thanks Kerry! It was!
Lorain Kaiser
Saved to bookmark. Sweet and sour soup! Used to make a version for Dad.
Sure this will be good! Could not subscribe due to so many math questions.
Helen
Hi Lorain, I hope you enjoy the soup! Sorry you had problems subscribing – drop me an email at helen@family-friends-food.com with your address and I can add you to the mailing list.
Corina
Love the sound of this – I’ll have to try it on my pre-schooler.
Helen
Thanks Corina – let me know if yours prefers it smooth or chunky…
Nayna Kanabar (@citrusspiceuk)
This looks like an interesting combination of Ingredients in soup. I am going to try it.
FFF
Thanks Nayna. I hope you enjoy it!
Choclette
Oh, oh, oh, you’ve bought the memories flooding back. My aunt used to make stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce. It was my favourite dish, though I remember it being really fiddly – cooking the leaves first and slices off the thick parts of the stalk whilst trying to keep the leaf in tact. She always cooked it for me as a special treat when I visited. Hers was a dish from Egypt, except they used vine leaves rather than cabbage leaves.
FFF
Thanks Choclette! I’m glad I’m not the only one having massive nostalgia at the moment 🙂
Nat Maryn
Can also be made with with a chunkwor two of meat (flanken, short ribs, etc.) but in any case, and handful of raisins or currents will really really enhance the taste (like my Bubbe used to make).!!!
Helen
Great suggestion about the raisins – thanks!
We’ll skip the meat though – only veggie and fish recipes here 🙂