Serves 6 to 8 | Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 min
As a child, I was so tall that I often had to lie about my age; otherwise, people might have thought that my parents were giving me steroids. The real reason for my surprising height was much less controversial: vegetables. My mother would hide them everywhere and employed various tricks to make me eat them—hypnosis, emotional blackmail, and so on. I kid, of course.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ head green cabbage (10 oz/280 g), minced
3 carrots, sliced into rounds
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
8 cups (2 L) vegetable broth
1 (28 oz/796 mL) can diced tomatoes
1 (19 oz/540 mL) can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 yellow-fleshed potatoes (about 10½ oz/300 g), peeled and cut into cubes
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the cabbage, carrots, celery, and onions and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Discard the bay leaves, season to taste, and serve.
