The Soup We Could Eat Everyday

Vegetable beef may be the best soup of all time. We're hooked on it a few times a week. It's hearty, packed with tender beef, veggies, and a rich broth. Perfect for using up whatever's lying around with that classic no-frills flavor. But before we get into the soup, let's talk beef. I've got a two and a half pound hunk of reverse seared strip roast that I recently cooked. However, any pre-cooked cut such as roast beef, picanha, or even prime rib is good to use. If you're coming into this recipe with nothing pre-cooked, then a nice beef chuck roast is excellent for this. All I'm looking to do is to cut this into smaller bite-sized pieces, about three quarter inch cubes. Bigger or smaller is totally fine. And leaving some of the fat on there is great because that will just add more flavor to the soup. Adding all the cut up beef to a plate and then back over to the cooktop. I'm going to be cooking this in my 12 quart Rondeau pot. You know I'm obsessed with these. And if you don't have one, no problem. A large Dutch oven or just a regular old large pot will work perfectly. Once you've decided on what this is being cooked in, add in three to four tablespoons of olive oil. Let's crank the heat up to high. And once it begins to lightly smoke like this, it's time to sear. Place in the cut up beef and give it a gentle season of coarse salt and let it cook untouched for three to four minutes to help start developing that maillard brown crust, which is going to make the soup that much better. Then saute it for a further four to five minutes, stirring it occasionally. But while this is waiting, I'm going to quickly small dice up two peeled yellow onions. Then smash and finely mince up four garlic cloves. And hey, if you love garlic, feel free to add a few more cloves, no problem. Take everything back over to the cooktop and let's have a look at the beef. Nice and browned up. And we're going to remove all of the beef at this stage and set it to the side on a plate. In the same pot, let's add in the diced onions. Give it a gentle season of salt and saute them over medium heat for five minutes or until lightly browned. All right, at this stage, heat is going down to low and I'm going to cook them for a further 10 minutes to help deepen the caramelization and flavor of these. Okay, these are done. But first, I'm going to stir in the garlic and cook it just until it becomes fragrant, which really only takes 30 to 45 seconds. Next up, we're going to pince a three tablespoons of tomato paste, which takes about four to five minutes over low to medium heat. Cooking it will help deepen the umami flavors and add a touch of acidity to the overall flavor of the soup. Now, once it becomes a rust-like color, just like this, it's good to go. Now, this is completely optional, but I highly recommend it. I'm going to deglaze with one cup of dry red wine and any dry red will work. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or like this French blend I'm using. I just had it on hand. You could also sub with a dark beer like Guinness. Completely up to you. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed into everything, this is known as au sec or almost gone, I'm going to next add in one gallon of good beef stock. Got a great homemade recipe if you want to check it out. And yes, this makes a lot of soup and I'll show you how I store it in a few minutes. But first, add back in the cooked beef, one bay leaf, and give everything a season of coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper. I'm going to next turn the heat up to high to bring it to a boil. I cook the beef first so that it becomes tender. If I added the vegetables in right now, we'd have mush in the end. Nobody wants that. The goal is perfectly cooked everything. Once it is boiling, let's add on a lid and simmer it over low to medium heat for about 45 to 60 minutes. This will also give the stock an even beefier flavor. And with about 15 to 20 minutes left in the cooking process is when I start on some prep and here's what I had on hand. Got four carrots, which I'm going to peel, although you don't have to, then I'm going to thinly slice them. Next, slicing up four ribs of celery. Then I've got three leftover smallish parsnips, which I'll peel and then thinly slice. I've also got about a half pound of green beans that I'm going to cut into one-inch slices. Now, if you just happen to get fresh corn in the winter, weird, but use it. I got about two cups from four ears of fresh corn. If not, and most likely not, canned corn or frozen corn absolutely gets the job done. Now, last but not least, I have two large russet potatoes that I'm going to peel and large dice. You could use reds or Yukon golds, no problem. Now, some other optional things you could add are turnips, rutabaga, or even celeriac root, all peeled and all large diced. And if you can't tell by now, this soup does not need to be so prescriptive. Use what you have and in the amounts that you see fit because, hey, you like them. Now, let's go hit up that soup and see what we're working with. And yeah, smells so good and looks awesome. Let's give the beef a test and make sure it's cooked perfectly. And yeah, it breaks down with a spoon, excellent. Now, at this stage, you can add in the veg to this broth, but first, what if we thickened it to make it a bit richer? You could use a slurry, a roux, or my personal favorite, a beurre manié, which translates to kneaded butter. Using your hands, completely mix together one stick of softened unsalted butter and a half cup of all-purpose flour until it is well-kneaded, kneaded butter. I'm going to add it in thirds to the soup over medium heat while stirring it, making sure it's completely dissolved before adding in the next third. And you'll quickly begin to see that it will start to thicken everything up, but not too much, just getting that beautiful viscosity like this, perfection. Okay, now it's time to add in all the veg, including the potatoes, and it is almost good to go, but I think I also want a bit more tomato flavor. And I happen to have one 28-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes. I almost always have these on hand. And any whole peeled tomato will also work. Crush them with your hands to break them up in a bowl, and I'm going to add them right in the soup. Let's cook everything for 25 to 30 minutes to not only cook out the flour from the beurre manier, but also to cook the veg until it is al dente, and then we can stop there. But I'm not stopping there. Okay, I can't help myself. I love pasta in my vegetable beef soup, and I specifically love ditalini, but accini di pepe also is great, something on the smaller side. While the soup is cooking and in a separate large pot of boiling water, I'm going to season it with enough salt so that it tastes like the ocean. We're going to boil it for about seven to nine minutes or until it's al dente, which is firm but not crunchy. Now, if you don't know what that consistency is, just taste it. How else do you learn these things? All right, so we could add this directly to the soup, but nobody, and I mean nobody, likes mushy pasta. So here's how it was taught in the restaurant industry. Rinse it under cold water until it's cool, then transfer it over to a container and lightly coat it with a little bit of olive oil, mix it so that the pasta doesn't stick together, and chill it until you need it. I'll explain why in a minute, but first, let's have a look at the soup. Absolutely beautiful. Let's bring this thing home. Well, maybe not. Sorry, but I got to looking around, and I just happen to have one pint of baby bellas. Yes, totally optional, but I need to use all this stuff up. Wipe them clean with a damp paper towel, and then I'm gonna slice them in half, and then thinly slicing each of these. Now, in a large frying pan, I'm going to coat the bottom of it in olive oil and crank the heat up to hot. Once it begins to lightly smoke, I'm going to add the mushrooms and give them a gentle season of salt. Leave them completely untouched for four minutes, then saute them for two to three minutes. The umami flavor of mushrooms intensifies to another level when they're roasted like this, which is why I do this instead of just adding them to the soup. This makes the entire thing savorier and more delicious. Let's add the shrooms to the soup. Hit it with one to one and a half cups of peas, and then I'm just going to quickly, finely mince up one and a half tablespoons of fresh rosemary, one and a half tablespoons of minced fresh thyme, and about a quarter cup of minced fresh parsley. That's what I had on hand. Remember, you finish with fresh herbs, and you start with dry. Everything right into the soup. Season it with coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper. I know, I'm sick of saying it too. And just for a little bit more love, how about a splash of Worcester sauce and a little Tabaski? Because why not? Taste it, see what it needs. Yo! Now to serve this up. Add the soup to a bowl. Then now is when you add in some of that pasta. See? Perfectly cooked soup and perfectly cooked pasta all together in one bowl. This is how chefs do it in the restaurant industry. If you want, you could also hit it with a bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Sorry, I put this on everything. I'm Italian, it's in my blood. Then a final garnish of minced fresh parsley. Yeah, so, so good. Now because there is so much soup, here's how I break it down once it's completely cool. I fill up my favorite 32-ounce deli containers. Yeah, sorry, you can take a boy out to restaurants, but you can't take the restaurant out of the boy. Then I fill in the remaining with the chilled ditalini pasta. Label it, date it, pop it in the freezer, pull it out, and add it right to a pot whenever we're craving it, which honestly is dang always. I cannot say it enough. This soup just smells like winter, and it delivers every single time. This soup is pure comfort in a bowl. It's the kind you simmer all day long so you and your family can sip on it whenever the mood strikes. Total goodness. And if you're into this, you will love my Italian wedding soup. I've got a great recipe video. I'll catch you there.