Cabbage is a green you can keep in the root cellar deep into the winter, and it is often sliced thin and sautéed in butter or bacon grease as a sturdy side for a cold-weather supper. This soup pairs it perfectly with tangy buttermilk and the fragrantly earthy black walnuts that fall in abundance in the autumn. Black walnuts are a bear to get to, their outer husks staining hands a deep purplish black, the inner shells so hard that it breaks the nut meats inside to crack them. But they are so beloved and flavorful that mountain families would spend long winter evenings peeling, cracking, and picking black walnuts by the fire. If you don’t have or don’t like black walnuts, you can make the “pesto” with pecans. It will be great, but just different.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Pesto:
Soup:
Preparation
Prepare the pesto:
Step 1
In a small heavy skillet over medium heat, toast the black walnut pieces, shaking the pan, until they just begin to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.
Step 2
Put the toasted walnuts in a blender, add the cider and a large pinch of salt, and pulse until a loose, grainy paste is formed. Remove the pesto from the blender and set it aside.
Make the soup:
Step 3
Split the cabbage in half, remove the core, and cut each half into 4 wedges. Slice the wedges into thin strips.
Step 4
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat, and sauté the onion until it just begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and a few pinches of salt, and stir well to coat with the butter.
Step 5
Add the broth and bring to a lively simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the cabbage is tender.
Step 6
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the buttermilk. Return it to very low heat and warm it slowly, stirring as you do, so the buttermilk doesn’t curdle.
Step 7
Serve the soup in individual bowls with a tablespoon of the black walnut pesto in the center of each serving. Pass the salt and pepper for additional seasoning.
Recipe notes
Back to topSee Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
25 Recipes for Southern Vegetable Sides
Traditional and modern takes on the classic Southern dishes you know and love.4 Clean and Green Dinners for Cold Weather
Our newest leafy-green recipes will have you ooing and awing at their vibrant, verdant beauty.Appalachian Food: Past, Future, and Squirrel
In a deeply researched new cookbook, writer Ronni Lundy pays tribute to the food and traditions of the mountains she came from.
