Cabbage, Leek, Bean, and Bacon Soup

Submitted by Ambrosia for Guen

"This is one of my experimental recipes. And it was definately a learning experience. I learned that soaking white beans and chickpeas with black beans will dye them purple. I may use that knowledge later for dying Easter eggs, haha. It's kind of inspired by an Elzekaria recipe I love, which is cabbage and white beans in a soup."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 10mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1⁄2 cup dried garbanzo beans
• 1⁄2 cup dried red beans
• 1⁄2 cup dried navy beans
• 1⁄2 cup wild rice
• 1 cup bacon, chopped
• 1 cup yellow onion, sliced for soup
• 1 large leek, halved and sliced
• 1 small savoy cabbage
• 3 cups chicken stock, homemade
• 8 cups water
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

directions

1. Soak all beans over night or 8 hours in water. Drain, rinse, and set aside until needed.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut top off of bulb of garlic so that all tops of cloves are exposed. Place bulb in foil or in small ramekin. Drizzle 1 tbs of olive oil on top of garlic. Salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast until tops are slightly browned - about 20-30 minutes. When roasted, set aside to cool.
3. While garlic is cooling, coat bottom of stockpot with remainder of olive oil. Heat olive oil Medium. Place onion in stockpot and salt. Sweat onion while halving and slicing leek. Place leek in stockpot and stir. Add bacon to stockpot. Squeeze roasted garlic out of bulb and into stockpot and stir, smashing the cloves as you go. Salt and pepper and sautee until leeks and onions are soft and bacon is just about to start browning. You don't want the bacon raw and you don't want it browned - get it somewhere in between.
4. As the above mixture is sauteeing, shred cabbage. Add cabbage and stir until all is coated with oil and bacon grease.
5. Stir in water and chicken stock and set stove temp to Medium High. Add bean mixture and rice and bring soup to a boil.
6. Boil until beans and rice are tender. Skim any bubbles off of the top of the soup throughout cook time. Serve when satisfied with all the textures in the soup.