April’s Featured Healthy Recipe: Sweet & Sour Beef-Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 pound lean (90% or leaner) ground beef
  • 1½ teaspoons caraway seeds
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2½ cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed, chopped
  • 1 medium Golden Delicious or other sweet-tart cooking apple, unpeeled, diced
  • 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
  • 1 15-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1½ tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Hungarian sweet
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped Savoy, or green cabbage
  • 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

  • Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add beef, caraway seeds and thyme and cook, stirring and breaking up the beef with a spoon, until it is mostly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in pepper-onion mix and apple; cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes more.
  • Stir in broth, tomatoes, honey and paprika and adjust the heat so the mixture boils gently. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in cabbage and cook just until barely tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Season with vinegar to taste, salt and pepper.