My Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup is inspired by a recipe I found years ago on the website of The Mill at Simon Pearce Restaurant in Vermont. It’s not on their site any longer, but over the years I’ve changed it up quite a bit and I wanted to share it as an option to use a little leftover Corned Beef, maybe from your St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup
That is if you have any leftover corned beef! At any rate, this soup alone would be a great excuse to make a little extra corned beef (plan ahead and buy one that’s a little larger than you need) or a great excuse to hoard any leftovers you do have. I don’t know, hide it in the bottom of the veggie drawer or something until you have a chance to make this! If you’d like to see recipes for Corned Beef and some other options for leftover corned beef or any other Irish leaning recipes, check out my post on 40 plus Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day.
About Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup:
But this soup, out of all my recipes for leftover corned beef is my fave. And yeah, this soup is really that good. It’s a glorified tomatoey based soup flavored with the Corned Beef and brimming with tomato, potatoes, and healthy cabbage. And of course, not only can your leftover corned beef go in this soup, if you have any leftover veggies, they can be tossed in, too. Just heat them through at the end if they’re already pretty soft.
My favorite little ninja way with this soup, though, is to use some of the briny liquid from cooking your corned beef and cabbage dinner in it! It’s like a special little magic touch. If you happen to be making Reubens and have sauerkraut on hand, you can add just a smidge of sauerkraut or a little of that liquid too, right at the end or a touch of vinegar. It brightens everything up; just go by taste. You’re going to see something a little strange for me; especially in a soup. There’s a little smidge of sugar and it gives this soup some balance and an indefinable little bit of a faint sweet/sour twang. Don’t leave it out!
This is a great, versatile recipe to have on hand. It usually goes over well with those who aren’t happy about a straight, no meat vegetable soup like my Classic Vegetable Soup, Perfected. The flavor’s incredible, and I know I mentioned it’s healthy; don’t for a minute think this tastes like it is, lol! How good is this? I literally made it three times in the past week! We just couldn’t get enough of it!
Serve with muffins, a good, Ballymaloe Soda Bread, Parmesan Toast, or my Crusty Bread (shown in the photos.) A sandwich wouldn’t go wrong, here, either. This soup is hearty but low in calories so you might want to fill it out with something hearty.
Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup
Making Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup:
There couldn’t be an easier soup to make! Saute the onions, add in the garlic, then a little tomato paste. Then in go the potatoes and broth. That broth can be from your corned beef and/or chicken stock or a combination. That’s the magic! Once the potatoes are just about cooked through (you can add carrots, too, if you’d like) toss in some cabbage, the bit of sugar and salt & pepper along with the corned beef; it only needs to heat through.
All that’s left is to taste and adjust the seasonings. I mentioned you can add in a little sauerkraut or some of the juices from the can or bag and just happen to have some in the fridge. Maybe you’re making Reubens, too? If not just add a little vinegar. Go by taste.
If you have leftover vegetables from your corned beef dinner, toss them in, too, if you’d like at the end, just to heat through. They’re probably pretty soft anyway so you don’t want to cook them more, just heat them up. No waste!
Saving Money on Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup:
Corned Beef can be pricey even when it’s on sale. Making a whole new meal out of any leftover is a great way to cost average that beef.
Around St. Paddy’s, you’re going to find potatoes, carrots and probably onions on the cheap and there’s no better time to pick up cabbage at a discounted price. As a matter of fact, pick up several cabbages if you have room to store them and make things like cabbage rolls, stir-fries, and slaws.
Pantry Items like canned tomatoes and tomato paste usually drop to a low abut once a quarter; stock up when they are on sale in enough quantity so you’ll never run through them before the next sale and have to pay regular price. It’s a great strategy for any pantry item.
Connemara Corned Beef Cabbage Soup
Connemara Corned Beef Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soups
- Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup or more diced leftover Corned Beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon (heaping) of tomato paste
- 1 quart chicken stock or corned beef stock or a combination *
- 3 large potatoes, 3/4″ diced **
- 1 29 ounce can tomatoes, pulsed in blender
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 small or 1/2 larger head green cabbage, about 3 cups in bite-sized pieces **
- salt & pepper to taste
- a little vinegar, a little sauerkraut (1/4 to 1/2 cup) or sauerkraut juices, a tablespoon or two if desired
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, add oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until tender six to eight minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir in, cooking for a moment or two until it just begins to lightly caramelize.
Working quickly so tomato paste doesn’t burn, add in the potatoes and stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are nearly done, 15 minutes or so. At that point add the carrots and simmer another 15 minutes or so until cabbage is tender then add in the corned beef to heat through, the sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
Adjust seasonings & sugar to taste. A tablespoon or two of or any juice from leftover sauerkraut if you have it on hand or a little vinegar brightens this soup.
*If your corned beef broth is super strong, only use part of it mixed with some stock or cut it with water.
**If you wish and have enough you can make this with all of your leftover corned beef vegetables. Just add them in after the tomato paste is caramelized and simmer long enough to heat through. If you don’t have enough to make the soup, you can still add in what you do have to heat through at the end.
Nutrition: Using smaller amounts of meat: Calories 180; Total Fat 3 g, 4 %; Saturated Fat 1 g 5 %; Monounsaturated Fat 0 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g; Trans Fat 0 g; Cholesterol 12 mg 4 %; Sodium 265 mg 11 %; Potassium 1030 mg 29 %; Total Carbohydrate 33 g 11 %; Dietary Fiber 5 g 21 %; Sugars 9 g; Protein 8 g 16 %; Vitamin A 25 %; Vitamin C 113 %; Calcium 6 %; Iron 11 %
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