DAY 1: Root Vegetable Soup, Fennel Orange Salad, Braised Cabbage

Root Vegetable Soup

  • ½# ground beef

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced

  • 1 medium potato, diced

  • 1 small rutabaga, diced

  • 2 medium carrots, sliced

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

  • ½ tsp sea salt

  • 3 cups broth

  • 1 can pinto beans, rinsed & drained

  • 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

  • 1 tsp dried thyme

Instructions

Brown ground beef and garlic; drain and reserve ½ for Day 5. Place remaining browned ground beef in a soup pot. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are fork-tender. To thicken soup, mash some of the vegetables and beans. Set aside ½ of soup for Day 4. Serve with chopped chives and flat-leaf parsley.

Make-ahead note: if you have time today, make Three Bean Salad (Day 2)and marinate overnight.

Fennel Orange Salad

  • ½ red onion

  • 1 navel orange

  • 2 small fennel bulbs

  • 4 oil cured black olives

  • 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • ¼ tsp sea salt

Instructions

Peel onion and slice as thinly as possible. Cut peel from orange, removing membrane as you go. Slice orange across segments and cut slices into ½” pieces. Slice fennel bulbs crosswise into thin slices. Discard core, but save fronds for Day 2. Slice olive flesh off pits. Place all ingredients into a small bowl and add olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Stir.

Braised Cabbage

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

  • ½ red onion, sliced into half moons

  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • 1 Tbsp sea salt, divided

  • ¾ head Savoy cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced into ¾” slices

  • 2 Tbsp butter

  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  • ½ bunch fresh chives, chopped

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large skillet and sauté onion until soft. Bring large pot of water to a boil; add onions, 1 ½ tsp salt, vinegar, and cabbage. Boil over high heat until cabbage is just wilted, 2-3 minutes; drain. Toss in a bowl with butter, oil, parsley, chives, 1 ½ tsp salt and pepper.