Red cabbage soup with horseradish cream topping

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 150 g floury potatoes
• 1 apple
• 500 g red cabbage
• 3 shallots
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• Oil, neutral
• salt and pepper
• 250 ml red wine, dry
• 600 ml vegetable stock
• 100 ml orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, dark
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 clove(s), whole
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 allspice berries
• 200 ml cream
• Creamed horseradish
• chives

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Peel the potatoes and apple. Then chop the red cabbage, shallots, garlic, potatoes, and apple. Heat oil in a large pot and sauté the red cabbage and shallots, adding a little salt. Deglaze everything with red wine, vegetable stock, orange juice, and balsamic vinegar. Add the garlic, apple, potatoes, and honey and stir well. Place the cloves, bay leaves, and allspice in a tea infuser or spice bag and add it to the pot (if you don’t have a tea infuser or spice bag, you’ll have to sort through the spices later—a tea bag would also work if you remove the tea leaves first). Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for 1 hour. While the soup is simmering, prepare the horseradish cream topping. Whisk together the cream, creamed horseradish, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Adjust the amount of horseradish to taste. Finely chop the chives for garnish. After 1 hour, when the red cabbage is tender, remove the spices and puree everything with a hand blender. If you prefer a creamy soup, season with salt and pepper and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. If you prefer a finer soup, strain everything through a fine sieve. The remaining liquid in the fine sieve makes a great purée to serve with a dish. Now pour the soup into a bowl and garnish with a tablespoon of the horseradish cream. Sprinkle with chives. Toast croutons or toasted pine nuts would also be a good addition.