sweet and sour beef cabbage soup

Beef

Sweet & Sour Beef Cabbage Soup

This wholesome sweet-and-sour soup combines beef, caraway seeds, sweet paprika and cabbage--ingredients that star in a number of German dishes. It is particularly nice served with crusty rye bread. For an even heartier soup, add diced cooked potatoes along with the cabbage.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or avocado
1 pound lean (90% or leaner) ground beef
1 ½ teaspoons caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 1/2 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
1 ½ 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

Directions

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.