Rustic cabbage soup

ahsan65@gmail.comOctober 13, 2025

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Today’s cabbage soup recipe was inspired by the delivery of a mystery box from Mariquita Farm in Watsonville, California. I show up at a designated pickup point, pay $25, and in turn receive what feels like twenty pounds of beautiful produce straight from the farm. This time of year I might see the eyes of impossibly small potatoes staring back at me, they might be nestled next to a kaleidoscope of brightly colored carrots, or propped up against a pile of parsnips.

Cabbage Soup Ingredients

Taking inspiration from some beautiful moon-shaped cabbage and potatoes in the mystery box, I cut the cabbage into thin ribbons and cooked it in a simple pot of sautéed potatoes, beans, onions, garlic, and flavorful broth. Each bowl was finished with a generous drizzle of good olive oil, a few splashes of sour cream and a touch of something spicy – in this case, a little Calabrian chili paste. It couldn’t be simpler.
Soup and sourdough bread on a table

But before I get too far on the soup front, let me tell you a little more about Mariquita Farm and what Andy and Julia do. There is a little back story. I used to buy Mariquita produce at the farmers market on Saturdays. After many years, they decided not to do any more trading. Mariquita sells my favorite rainbow carrots and I was convinced I was going to have to find a new source. That’s not the case, Julia sent an email to some of her regulars last summer mentioning that she would be making occasional deliveries to San Francisco…“Would we be interested in doing a pickup?”» She also mentioned the possibility of purchasing one of Andy’s specially curated mystery boxes – which have since become very popular.

It’s not a CSA, it’s more guerrilla than that. As it stands, every two weeks(ish), Julia and Andy pack a huge delivery truck with many, many mystery boxes. Julia then gets in the big truck and drives through the Santa Cruz Mountains to Silicon Valley, then north toward San Francisco. She parks the truck in front of a pre-designated neighborhood restaurant and people come from all over town to exchange money for mysterious crops. It’s great. I end up trying all kinds of ingredients that I might not otherwise buy. The crops are beautiful and bright because Andy takes so much care growing and handling them.

Without sounding too bland, it’s just another reason why I love living in San Francisco. On good evenings, not only do I come home with the box (er, bag – boxes are reused), but sometimes I even get to sit down to have a drink or a slice of pizza and catch up with Julia. It’s a real treat.

Some related links:

Mariquita Farm (website)
The Ladybug Letter (Letters from Andy)
Julia’s blog

Rustic cabbage soup

Cabbage Soup Variations

Back to the soup – there are a bunch of variations I’ve made over the years when cooking this soup. Here are some salient points.

Cabbage and Parmesan Soup: There are nights when I keep it super simple, finishing it all off with a generous sprinkling of parmesan and some chopped herbs.
Cabbage and curry soup: Add a small tablespoon of curry powder to the pan before stirring in the broth.
Lemony cabbage soup: Prepare the soup as directed but serve each bowl garnished with freshly grated lemon zest and a generous drizzle of lemony olive oil.

Rustic cabbage soup

Leftover cabbage soup

This is a great overnight soup. So keep that in mind. And, generally speaking, there are several ways to deal with leftovers (for example, if you make a double pot). Cabbage soup freezes well, so eat your fill for a day or two, then freeze the rest. You’ll want to make sure it’s at room temperature or cold before freezing it. Allow to thaw before reheating.

I’m guessing many of you have all the ingredients needed to cook this on hand – aside from the cabbage. I will encourage you to try this! This is a great basic recipe to have in your back pocket. This recipe was originally published in early 2008 and I cooked it a lot times in the years that followed. Appreciate! -h
Rustic cabbage soup