Soupe aux choux

Name: Soupe aux choux
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 1 small white or savoy cabbage (about 700g), roughly shredded; 1 smoked ham hock (or 200g smoked bacon lardons); 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced; 2 medium carrots, diced; 2 medium onions, roughly diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tbsp lard or butter; 1.8 litres cold water or light stock; 2 bay leaves; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; 4 black peppercorns; 1 tsp salt (less if using a salty ham hock); 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to finish

French-Canadian rustic cabbage soup, hearty and honest

Origin: Quebec, Canada / Auvergne, France

From the journey of Cabbage.

Soupe aux choux ('cabbage soup') is a direct descendant of the French paysan (peasant) cooking tradition that French settlers brought to Quebec in the 17th century, and which evolved in isolation over three centuries into the robust, self-sufficient cuisine of habitant (settler farmer) culture. Jacques Cartier planted gardens of European vegetables (including cabbage) along the St. Lawrence River as early as 1541, and within two generations, French-Canadian households were relying on cabbage as their primary winter vegetable, just as they had in Normandy and Brittany. Soupe aux choux is the backbone of this tradition: a generous pot of cabbage, salted pork, onions, and potatoes that could simmer on the back of a wood-burning stove all day. It is simultaneously an Auvergnat French tradition (the soupe aux choux of central France, made with confit duck or slab bacon) and a Canadian settler tradition adapted to harsh winters and a farmstead economy. The simplicity of the dish is its strength: it asks nothing more of you than good cabbage, a smoked ham hock, patience, and winter.

Ingredients

Cabbage

1 small white or savoy cabbage (about 700g), roughly shredded

Meat

1 smoked ham hock (or 200g smoked bacon lardons)

Vegetables

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, diced

Aromatics

2 medium onions, roughly diced
3 garlic cloves, minced

Fat

2 tbsp lard or butter

Liquid

1.8 litres cold water or light stock

Herbs

2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme

Spice

4 black peppercorns

Seasoning

1 tsp salt (less if using a salty ham hock)

Finish

3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to finish

Method

Melt the lard or butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the ham hock (or lardons), potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns. Pour over the water or stock. Bring to a boil, skimming any foam.
Reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook, partially covered, for 40 minutes until the hock (if using) is beginning to become tender.
Add the shredded cabbage and season with salt. Stir and simmer for a further 30–40 minutes until the cabbage is very soft and the ham is falling off the bone.
Remove the ham hock. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone in large shreds and return it to the pot. Discard the bone, skin, and any cartilage. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
Taste and adjust salt (the hock may have made the broth quite salty already). Ladle into deep bowls and scatter with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty sourdough or rye bread and cold butter.

Notes

This soup is even better the next day. Keep in the refrigerator and the fat from the ham hock will solidify on the surface: scoop it off if you prefer a lighter soup, or leave it for richer flavour on reheating. The classic French Auvergnat version adds a confit duck leg to the pot alongside the pork, producing an extraordinary depth. A splash of dry white wine added with the stock is also a fine addition.

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control