Baby Potato, Fennel and Savoy Cabbage Soup with Brussels Sprouts

Despite (or perhaps because of) being a rather large human girl person, I've always been drawn to cute, tiny things. This manifests most dangerously in my compulsion to purchase adorable vinyl toys, and most marvelously in zOMG MINI FOODS! When I happened upon these crazy-adorable "Honey Gold Nibbles" potatoes at the market last weekend, I knew they must be mine.

What to do with them, I wasn't really sure. Other than knowing I wanted them in a soup, and I wanted them whole (because if you dice 'em up, they're just reg'lar). Lucky for me, I couldn't sleep Monday night! I woke up around 2:15 and my mind wandered until about 5:44, teeming with thoughts about work, life, love, Kanye, and soup. By the time I grumped out of bed, I had one of those topics figured out (Hint: it wasn't Kanye).

I started with a classic combination: cabbage and potatoes. But where that word pairing might conjure such connotations as "heavy, starchy, boiled," this soup is far from it, largely thanks to the natural creaminess of the baby potatoes, the generously-herbed broth and the barely simmered, lacy Savoy cabbage.
 
WHIMSY ALERT: With its potato pebbles studding a green-flecked stream of broth winding through moss-light strands of Savoy cabbage, leading to a Parmesan-snowcapped Brussels sprout knoll, I've decided this soup is likely a major part of the diet of woodland fairies (or "faeries" if you're the RenFest type).

Maybe needs more sparkles though.

ANYWAY [pretending last paragraph doesn't exist], I decided to blend the broth before adding the main components of the soup, as I wanted to have a silky base with a bit more body to support the heft of the baby-tates. Make sure the seasoning on the broth is right where you want it prior to adding the potatoes, because it's going to season those luscious lil-bitty nibbles straight through their skin.

The nuttiness of Parmesan adds a welcome dimension, and if I had been working with a longer timeframe I might have added a Parmesan rind to the broth. But if you want a vegan soup, you could leave this element out completely and still be satisfied (that’s how I ate it for breakfast this morning).

You could also leave off the Brussels sprouts, but I’m gonna tell you right now that’s a seriously bad move, bro. I don’t know how I’ve waited this long to talk about the Brussels sprouts – classic pleasure delayer tendencies, I suppose. When I was thinking about how to garnish this soup, my mind went to these tiny (here we go again), perfect sprouts I grabbed this weekend just because they looked so fresh and delicious. Baby potato + baby cabbage? I have no power to resist such a concept.

Baby BFsF!

Oh, and they were so good. I separated some of the outer leaves so they’d get really crispy, quartered the inner part, and sautéed them up over high heat with a splash of olive oil and some salt and pepper. It’ll feel like you’re burning them, but those dark bits are the best bits. A little char never hurt nobody.

In summation: This soup took less than half an hour to make and tasted pretty much exactly as I deliriously dreamed it would sometime around 4:37a.m. Also: fairy food. 

The Internet, ladies and gentlemen.

Baby Potato, Fennel and Savoy Cabbage Soup with Brussels Sprouts

Serves 3 generously, but could stretch to 4 if you’re not as greedy as I am

GET THIS STUFF:

 

For the soup:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 of a small yellow onion, diced

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 clove of garlic, sliced

2 cups water

2 cups vegetable broth

8 oz. baby potatoes (Honey Gold Nibbles or otherwise)

1/2 head fennel, thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 head Savoy cabbage, sliced into 1/4" ribbons

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, minced

1 tablespoon fennel fronds, minced

For the garnish:

Splash of extra virgin olive oil

1 cup quartered Brussels sprouts, some outer leaves pulled off

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Shaved Parmesan

DO THIS WITH IT:

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until softened but not browned – 5 to 7 minutes. Add 2 cups water and 2 cups vegetable broth, then blend until smooth in a blender or with an immersion blender.

Return broth to pot and taste it for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Add potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes – until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (you might as well just go ahead and eat it after you pierce it; you’re working hard!).

Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat with a splash of olive oil. Toss in your Brussels sprouts, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for just a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’ve got some nice, crispy dark spots on them. I like them to have a little crunch, so I only cooked them for about 3 minutes, but you could cook them longer if you’d prefer.

Back to the soup: When the potatoes are done, add fennel and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then add Savoy cabbage and cook for one more minute, just to warm through and soften a wee bit. Stir in celery leaves, parsley and fennel fronds. Serve topped with about 1/4 cup of sautéed Brussels sprouts and a good pinch of shaved Parmesan.