Savoy cabbage bread soup with bacon and cheese

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 large savoy cabbage, cleaned, weighing approx. 1.25 kg
• 3 liters of broth, vegetable or beef broth
• 250 g bacon cut into strips
• some nutmeg, grated
• 3 garlic cloves
• 500 g white bread or farmer’s bread from the previous day
• some olive oil for the bread
• some oil for frying
• 200 g grated cheese, e.g. medium-aged Gouda, Gruyere
• 100 g Parmesan, grated
• n. B. Salt
• 40 g butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves
• 4 allspice berries

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 5 minutes

Place the spices in a tea bag, seal it, and crush the allspice pods with the back of a knife. Slice the bread and toast under the grill or in a toaster until golden brown. Drizzle the hot slices with a little olive oil and rub them with a peeled garlic clove. Cut the cleaned savoy cabbage into bite-sized pieces, removing any large stalks. Cook with the spices in the broth for about 10 minutes, then pour through a sieve, reserving the broth and letting it drain. Let the spice bag steep in the broth for a while, then remove and discard. The cheese and bacon will add a bit of salt later, so carefully season the broth with salt. Grate the cheese and Parmesan and mix. Heat a little oil in a large pot or roasting pan and fry the bacon until crispy. Add a crushed or chopped garlic clove and fry briefly, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the savoy cabbage and sauté for 5 minutes. Grate some nutmeg over it and mix well. Pour a little stock into a casserole dish or saucepan, about 1 cm deep, and layer the stew in it. Start with the bread, top with some of the cabbage mixture, add the bacon, sprinkle with cheese, and pour in a little stock. The top layer should be just bread and cheese. Pour in enough hot stock to thoroughly soak the top layer of bread, but not completely cover it. Sprinkle butter on top. Add a little extra salt to taste. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 50 minutes. If the cheese browns too much, cover with aluminum foil.