Cabbage soup with apple and ginger

I was inspired to make cabbage soup by this lovely lady. However, the only ingredients out of the ones I needed for Bess's ketchupy soup was an onion, cabbage and ketchup, and that didn't sound too appetizing, so I actually made a completely different cabbage soup with apple and ginger instead. The sentiment is the same though, because this is not the diet kind either. I used plenty of butter and parmesan to make it really lovely. This is not the time of year for detoxing and dieting in my opinion, I am literally just trying to get through. For me that involves sleeping for at least 9 hours a day, sitting in a hot bath a lot and eating whatever I feel like. I firmly believe we should all be hibernating right now: cooking, eating comforting food, sitting by the fire with our loved ones drinking mulled wine, and not getting up at 7am to go to work. This seems like an unnatural and evil madness to me at this time of year

Ingredients

Onion, chopped

Half a cabbage (I used a green leafy one)

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

Apple, peeled and chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and chopped

Chicken stock

Butter

Parmesan, grated

1/2tsp chilli

Splash of single cream

Salt and pepper

Fry the onion in the butter until soft, then add the ginger, chilli and apple. Fry for a little while longer, before adding the shredded cabbage and the stock. I used a stock cube, which was fine, though if I'd had a bit of chicken on the bone, I would have taken my time and made some proper stock first. Allow this to cook for at least half an hour. Then blend a little bit. I allowed it to cool first before blitzing for literally 2 seconds, you don't want it too smooth. Now add the potatoes and bring back to the boil. Cook until the spuds are soft, another half an hour or thereabouts. Finally, season, stir in a splash of cream and some parmesan. Serve with more grated parmesan on top, and preferably a fruit crumble to follow. Proper comfort food that is