​Basque Soup

If you ever lived or visited Bakersfield, and asked where is a great place to eat, more and likely you were recommended a Basque Restaurant. Our town is well known for its Basque foods and we even have four restaurants in an one block area, and all of them are full every night. I’m not even sure why we have such a big Basque culture here, hmm maybe something to look into. One of my favorite things to get is what they all call the “set up” which consists of Basque soup, beans, bread, and salad. My mouth is starting to drool just thinking of this. However, the surprising thing is if you try to look for a Basque soup recipe to make at home, you can’t find one. Some have called recipes Basque soup, but it wasn’t a Bakersfield Basque Soup. Here is my recipe for this amazing soup and I will tell you it is as good as some of the restaurants in town!

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 small head of green cabbage, chopped
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 16 oz tomato sauce
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• ** Homemade Salad and French Bread, optional but very traditional!

Directions:

1. Sauté your onion, garlic, carrots, and celery
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce, undrained diced tomatoed, and the seasonings
3. Stir it all together and bring it to a boil, then reduce and let it simmer for 30 minutes
4. Add the chopped cabbage and simmer for another 30 minutes
5. Serve with salsa and french bread if desired