soup

Lentil Soup

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

bowl of lentil soup

On Friday it was raining. On Saturday it was snowing. Today it is 18 degrees F. What’s a girl to do? I made lentil soup, of course! This simple, thick and warming soup is just right and is a one pot meal when you add some crisp bread on the side. I made a big enough pot to give some to my sister and mother and to have for lunch during the week.

Lisa’s Lentil Soup

Yield: 8-10 portions

Ingredients

3 cups green lentils, rinsed

3 Tablespoons EVOO, Grapeseed or Canola oil

4 cups stock/broth (I used chicken but you could use vegetable or beef if you prefer)

6-8 cups of water

28 ounce can or 26.4 ounce box of diced tomatoes with their liquid (preferably San Marzano)

1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced in 1/2 inch rounds

1 large parsnip, peeled and sliced in 1/2 inch rounds

1 large turnip, peeled and cut in large dice

1 large red potato or Yukon Gold, peeled and cut in large dice

2 stalks of celery, cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 pieces of lemon zest cut into 3 inch strips (I use a vegetable peeler for this and remove any of the white pith with a sharp knife)

juice of one lemon

Kosher Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Sausage of choice (I used a chicken andouille sausage, but a good garlicky sausage would also work. You can leave the sausage out if you want to keep this vegetarian, but I like to add it.)

Directions

  1. In a 6 quart stock pot with a lid, add the oil and heat on medium. Add the chopped onion and saute for 3 minutes until translucent.
  2. Add the other vegetables and saute for 3-5 more minutes.
  3. Add the lentil, tomatoes, stock and lemon zest. Add 6 cups of water and 1.5 teapoons of Kosher salt. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Once it has come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover tightly. Cook for 1 hour.
  4. After 1 hour check the pot and add the remaining 2 cups of water and the lemon juice. If you are adding the sausage, add it now. Most sausage is precooked or smoked. If it isn’t, brown the pieces first in a pan with a very small amount of oil. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes more. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy! bowl of lentil soup2

 

Hearty Farm Soup

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farm soup 2

Having soup in your fridge is like having a rainy day account. Whether it is cold soup in the summer or hot soup in the winter, you always can come home to a delicious meal in a hurry when the children are tired and hungry or you are too tired to cook. When the weather really turns cold, which so far this winter it hasn’t, the soup sometimes never even makes it to the fridge. I just keep a pot on the stove and bring it to a simmer each day until it is gone. It only gets richer.

Matthew and Frances are coming for a visit in a couple of days and while I am planning lots of special meals, I also want a few things that they can grab and for which I don’t have to do a thing. So of course, that means more banana bread and ricotta rum pound cake, but it also means soup. This hearty soup is a one-pot meal and is wonderful after a long day roaming the city or just being lazy by the fire place. This soup is one where you can adjust the vegetables according to taste and what you may have in your fridge or pantry. If you have small children, you may want to cut things into a smaller dice, but since we are all adults in my house, I enjoy large chunks of vegetables. Use this as a guide – not as something written in stone.

Hearty Farm Soup

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons EVOO

2 Tablespoons butter

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into circles (or diced) about 1/2 inch thick

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 leeks (white and light green part only) well washed and sliced

3 parsnips, peeled and cut like the carrots

2 potatoes (red or Yukon Gold) peeled and cut into large dice

1 smoked pork butt (about 2 pounds) cut into large chunks or 2 hamhocks or 2 smoked turkey legs

2 cans (15 oz. each) or about 4 cups of beans (Great Northern, navy or runner beans – I had Scarlet Runner and Garabanzo beans that I had cooked so I am using that)

4 cups chicken broth, preferably unsalted

2 cups water

1/2 green cabbage or 1 bunch kale (curly or Tuscan) cut into large chunks

Kosher Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Shredded cheese such as a Pecorino, Asiago or Gruyere for serving

Directions

  1. In a 7 quart heavy Dutch oven or pot with a lid, heat the oil and butter on medium heat. Add the leeks and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute until the leeks begin to soften – about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the other raw vegetables, except for the cabbage,  and saute them for about 3 minutes. Now add the smoked meat, the cooked beans, the stock and water. Bring to a boil.
  3. As the liquid comes to a boil, you will see some “scum” come to the surface. Using a spoon dipped in hot water, carefully remove as much of the scum as you can. It won’t hurt you or even taste particularly bad if you leave it, but your broth will not be as clear. Don’t be lazy, it’s not a big deal to do.
  4. After you have skimmed the soup and it has come to a full boil, cover the pot tightly and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour.
  5. At the end of the hour, add your cabbage and continue cooking, covered for 30 minutes more. If you need to add liquid, add some boiling water. I tend to like thick soups, but you can control the consistency.
  6. If you like, the absolute best way to serve this is to top with a thin slice of a crusty day-old country style bread, with one of the cheeses shredded over the top. Place the bowls in the oven at 375 degrees F (unless the will withstand the broiler setting) and heat until the cheese is melted. However, just simply sprinkling the cheese over the bowl of hot soup is delicious too and frankly less fuss.

farm soup

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

mushroom beef barley soup

 

We have been having a strange El Nino winter so far with temperatures well above normal for December. Not too many people are complaining about it still being in the 50s and even 60s in Chicago, but I do find it a bit unsettling. I always wait for the cooler weather to wear my beautiful heavy kilted skirts and to bake my bread and make my rich soups and stews. The last couple of days saw a turn in the weather so I don’t need to pretend that it is a typical December and I’m making my mushroom beef barley soup. You can practically stand a spoon up in this soup – it is just that thick and rich. One bowl with some warm crusty bread and a fresh green salad will surely cure whatever winter blues or sniffles you are facing. It’s the kind of soup that I love to eat after snuggling on the couch with a good book and an even better single malt Scotch. It freezes well so make a big batch. Or do what I do and give some to a friend or sibling.

I tell you below how to substitute out the beef and beef stock if you wish to do that either for budgetary, health or moral reasons. It will not be thsame, but it will still be delicious.

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

Yield:

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Canola or Grapeseed Oil

2-3 pounds of chuck roast, cut into large cubes (You could also use beef shank or beef stew meat or even short ribs) If beef isn’t in your budget or your diet, you can leave it out, but don’t skimp on the mushrooms! The dried mushrooms add some of that beef mouthfeel and lots of flavor.

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced medium thick

IMAG0881 (1)

3 stalks of celery, sliced but not too thinly, including leaves if you have them

1 large onion or 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped coarsely

8 – 12 ounces of sliced mushrooms (baby bello or crimini) In case you hadn’t guessed, I REALLY like mushrooms. Be sure to NOT wash any dirt off of the mushrooms. Just wipe with a damp paper towel. Washing mushrooms makes them spongy.

1.5 cups dried mushrooms (Buy what you can afford; I am using porcini which I buy from nuts.com in bulk. I would not use a shitake or oyster mushroom here but just about any other dried mushroom will do.)

porcini mushrooms

1 cup of barley

6-8 cups of good beef stock (homemade if you have it or a good commercial brand like Kitchen Basics) If you are not cooking with beef becasue you are a vegetarian or vegan, then substitute vegetable stock. It won’t be as good, in my opinion, but it will still be a good soup.

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a microwaveable bowl, soak your dried mushrooms in water to just cover. Place in themicrowave and heat on high for 1.5 minutes. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively you could soak the mushrooms in boiling water.
  2. You will need to use a heavy 7-9 quart pot for this – preferably cast iron covered with enamel like a Staub, Le Creuset or Lodge). Otherwise, you will be scraping burnt barley off of the bottom!
  3. Heat the oil in the pot on medium high heat and lightly brown your meat in batches. Remove with a slotted spoon and hold to the side.
  4. If necessary add a bit more oil, but you shouldn’t really need to. Add the onions or leeks and cook for a couple of minutes until translucent. Then add the carrots and celery and cook for 3 more minutes until they become shiny and barely begin to soften.
  5. Add all other ingredients, including the dried mushroom with their liquid but do not add the barley or fresh mushrooms yet. If you think there is any grit in the mushroom liquid, pour the liquid through a strainer. Start with 6 cups of the beef broth plus the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms. It should be enough for now.
  6. Bring to a simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally. This can take a bit but don’t rush it. Once it comes to a simmer, skim any of that greyish scum from the beef proteins that  comes to the surface. (I use a slotted spoon dipped in a measuring cup filled about 1/3 of the way with warm water.)
  7. Once you have removed as much of the scum as you can, cook for 30 minutes, covered and then add the barley and stir through. Now add your salt and cracked black pepper. Depending on whether your stock is already salted and on personal taste, you should proceed cautiously. You can always add salt at the end. This is a fairly good size pot of soup, so if your stock is unsalted, adding 1 Tablespoon of salt is probably not too much. Bring the pot back to a simmer, cover the pot or Dutch oven and continue to cook for 30 more minutes. Check the pot occasionally and if you must, add some additional boiling water or stock to make sure that there is enough liquid in the pot so you can still call this soup!
  8. After 30 minutes (1 hour total), add the fresh mushrooms and continue cooking for 30 more minutes (Total cooking time is 1.5 hours.) Adjust your seasonings.
  9. This soup will keep in the fridge for up to a week, but when you reheat it you may need to add some liquid since the barley will continue to absorb liquid as it sits. You can also control how thick you like your soup. My family likes it thick enough to stand up a spoon but others like a thinner soup. It’s up to you.

 

 

Easy Mushroom and Leek Soup

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

Whenever winter rolls around, I start dreaming about all the soups that I can eat (and make) and inevitably end up using my immersion blender all the time to make tasty and hearty liquid warmth.

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Making soup is extra fun with this pumpkin cast iron pot that is so beautiful that it makes cooking the soup feel extra seasonally appropriate.  It just so happens that Sur La Table also seems to think so, and provided a delicious mushroom and leek soup recipe to go with this pot.

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I modified it by using less stock (to make it much more dense) and left out all the extra butter and whipping cream.  To be honest, I don’t think we’re missing much for not including it and it ends up being healthier this way, too!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce dried wild mushrooms
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups roughly chopped celery
  • 2 medium leeks, white parts only
  • 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 4 cups sliced stemmed fresh shitake mushrooms
  • 4 cups sliced Crimini mushrooms
  • 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
  • 2 tablespoons truffle oil
  • diced chives (optional, for garnish)
  • ¼ cup straw mushrooms, for garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. Place the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with hot tap water, set aside and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Cut leeks into ¼” rounds. Transfer to a large bowl of cold water and wash well, lift from water into a colander and drain.
  2. In a large pot, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and place on the stove over a medium-high heat to melt. Add the celery, leeks and onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add all the mushrooms and cook until just starting to soften, about 4 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes.
  3. In a small bowl, use a silicone spatula to combine the flour and butter until a smooth paste forms. Add the flour paste mixture to the pot and stir until the mixture melts and coats the vegetables. Gradually mix in the stock and bring to the boil, stirring frequently.
  4. Remove the soaking mushrooms from their liquid and roughly chop. Add the mushrooms and their liquid, being careful not to add any sediment to the soup. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the mushrooms are tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
  5. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture in the pot (alternatively, use a blender and work in batches.) Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
  6. Drizzle with truffle oil, garnish with straw mushrooms and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

 

Adapted from Sur La Table Easy Mushroom and Leek Soup.

Italian Wedding Soup

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Italian wedding soup

All of us need a little comfort from time to time – a lost game, a blown test, a broken heart or simply just not feeling well. To my mind and that of millions of mothers everywhere, nothing soothes better than a bowl of good chicken soup. And so many cuisines have their version – Chinese wonton, Jewish chicken soup with kneidlach, Greek avogolemono and many more. Frances was under the weather with a case of bronchitis when she came for Thanksgiving and fortunately I had just made a big pot of Italian wedding soup – the Italian version of a great chicken soup. While, of course, it is best if you make your own chicken stock, there are several good commercial brands available now and I am not above using them. This soup is at its prettiest when you first serve it and the spinach is still a bright green, but the taste is just as wonderful several days later. If you are using a commercial chicken stock, this soup can be made in under and hour. Nothing knocks out the blues or sore throats better than this – unless of course it is Wonton soup or Jewish chicken soup or …. you get the point.

Italian Wedding Soup adapted from Ina Garten

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

For the meatballs

1 pound ground chicken (all white or a mix of white and dark)

1 pound raw chicken sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I would not use a very spicy sausage here)

2 slices of whole grain bread, crumbled

1 large egg

3 Tablespoons milk (any kind will do)

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced

2 rounded teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1/4 cup Asiago, Pecorino Romano OR Parmesan cheese, grated

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

For the soup

2 Tablespoons EVOO

2 bunches of spinach, washed and trimmed or about 16 ounces fresh baby spinach (it cooks down)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped to small dice

2 to 3 stalks of celery or fennel, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

8-10 cups of good quality chicken stock, preferably unsalted

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 generous cup tubetini pasta

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Place all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. I use my hands as the best way to distribute everything evenly. Dampen your hands slightly to prevent too much sticking and form into small balls. There is no magic size here – make them the size you like, just not giant balls. Place on a baking pan lined with foil or parchment or a Silpat and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside. cooked chicken meatballs
  3. In the meantime, heat a couple of tablespoons of EVOO in a large heavy pot (about 6-7 quarts) over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, diced carrots and celery and sauté until translucent, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.
  5. Add the pasta and simmer it for about 6-8 minutes.
  6. Add the meatballs. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust your seasonings. The soup can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated until ready to eat it. The pasta will continue to expand some so you may need to add some more chicken stock later.
  7. When ready to serve, gently reheat the soup and bring it to a simmer. Add the fresh dill and spinach and simmer for one minute. Any leftover soup will be delicious but the spinach will not retain the bright green color. If you like you can add a sprinkling of extra cheese on top when serving.

White Bean Soup with Pesto and Chorizo

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 2 Comments

The weather this week has been pretty bleak – chilly, windy and rainy. This always turns my thoughts to soup and this white bean soup with pesto and chorizo is one hearty solution to banish the damp. It is thick and satisfying and only needs a salad and bread to make a complete meal. If you don’t have or like chorizo sausage you can substitute Andouille or a good garlicky sausage. It would still be delicious without any sausage, but for me, the sausage just puts it over the top.

When I first starting making this soup, you couldn’t buy ready-made pesto or even canned cannellini beans that easily, so I had to do everything from scratch. If you use some quality shortcuts like a good commercial stock and canned beans and prepared pesto – this soup is a snap to make and honestly just as wonderful. And if you don’t own an immersion blender, this should be a gift to yourself! It saves time and energy – yours and the environment’s. There is less clean-up than with a blender or food processor and you can even puree things that are hot without risking that mess you can make with hot soup in a blender. I am grateful to Frances and Matthew every time I use mine.

white bean soup

White Bean Soup with Pesto and Chorizo adapted from The Peasant Kitchen by Perla Meyers, which unfortunately seems to be out of print 

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons EVOO

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped

28 ounce can chopped San Marzano tomatoes in juice

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 – 15 oz. cans cooked white beans like Cannellini OR 5-6 cups cooked white beans

4 cups Chicken Stock, preferably unsalted (you could use Vegetable if you want)

1 teaspoon (or to taste) Kosher salt and about 25 cracks of fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup broken up uncooked thin spaghetti or Angel Hair pasta

6 ounces (or more to taste) good quality pesto (look for one where basil is the first ingredient and where it uses olive oil and prefereably has pine nuts or walnuts)

6 ounces thinly sliced chorizo or other sausage (for this recipe, I prefer Spanish chorizo over Mexican – it’s dryer which is better with the soup.

Grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese for garnish

Directions

  1. In a 6 quart stock pot or Dutch oven, heat 3 Tablespoons of EVOO. Add the onion, garlic and parsley and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion has softened.
  2. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano and continue cooking for another 6 or 7 minutes.
  3. Add 2 cups of the cooked beans and one cup of the stock. Then season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  4. If you are using an immersion blender, you can blend the mixture, with the heat turned off, immediately. You want it mostly smooth but don’t go crazy if there are some bigger bits. If you are using a blender or food processor, you must let the mixture cool down or you will have a mess. This will also need to be done in batches. See how much easier it is with an immersion blender?!
  5. Add the remaining beans and the rest of the stock. Season with salt and pepper and add the pasta. Stir. If you are not going to eat this right away, you can allow the pasta to soften with the heat turned off in the covered pot. Otherwise, cook the pasta for about 8 minutes in the pot of soup.
  6. Add the chorizo or other sausage and the pesto. Stir through. The soup should be thick, but still soup.
  7. Serve with a dollop of pesto and some grated cheese. Leftovers will keep and they will thicken some. It’s up to you if you want to thin it out with some additional stock. I LIKE thick soup.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup – Perfect for Thanksgiving

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 2 Comments

Maybe you aren’t all as compulsive as I am and you don’t plan your Thanksgiving dinner weeks in advance. Actually, I don’t think I do it out of obsessiveness so much as I just find it incredibly fun to think about what I will be making and then putting together the best recipes I can. This soup is wonderful any time, but I like to keep it for Thanksgiving. I do that with certain recipes, whether it is for the Jewish holidays or secular holidays. This soup not only tastes wonderful but it is such a pretty color. I serve it in my Staub pumpkin soup bowls and it is always a hit. Now because I won’t be making this until a couple of days BEFORE Thanksgiving I won’t have any photos to add until then. But since I hope that some of you may want to make this for the holiday, I am including it without the photos for now. You will just have to trust me that this beautiful and delicious soup is worth making.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cut into about ½ inch pieces (about 3 cups)

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder (I used a mix of hot curry powder and mild ratio 1:2)

2.75 cups + 1 TBS chicken or vegetable broth (vegan)

6 oz. canned coconut milk (Do not use Light Coconut Milk)

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

salt & white pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Peel squash and cut into pieces.
  2. Heat 1 Tablespoon broth in medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and continue to sauté for another minute. Add turmeric, curry powder, and mix well. Add squash and broth, and mix. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
  3. Using an immersion blender, blend with coconut milk. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Thin with a little broth if needed. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Reheat, and add cilantro.

NOTE: I tripled the recipe for Thanksgiving and the only thing I changed was that I used two 13.5 oz. cans of coconut milk for the pot.

Split Pea Soup with Smoked Turkey

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

split peas

As soon as there is any chill in the air, I want to make soups and stews. And I am the kind of person that generally likes a soup to be thick enough to stand up a spoon! I think about and read about and plan food ALL the time, but I am not into chi-chi foods. The very thought that people pay good money to have a mist of  truffle reduction sprayed in their direction and have it called “dinner” is unfathomable to me. I appreciate innovation as much as the next person, but when I sit down to a meal, I want to know what I am eating and I want it to have real bite and mouth-feel. Pea soup is not especially pretty and likely will not be served at an elegant dinner, but there are few more sole-satisfying soups on a chilly night. Serve it with good bread and a salad and you have dinner. This can easily be made ahead – even frozen – and it will just get better and better as long as you don’t burn it when re-warming it. I make a LOT. It makes great lunches for the week as well. You can easily halve this recipe. There is just something so safe and comforting having a big pot of soup on the stove….    Split pea soup

Split Pea Soup

Yields: About 3 quarts of soup

Ingredients

2 pounds split green peas or a mix of green and yellow

3-4 stalks of celery, with leaves, sliced

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 large parsnip, peeled and sliced

1 large turnip, peeled and cubed

2 smallish potatoes (red or Yukon Gold), peeled and diced

2-3 smoked turkey legs (I look for the ones with the darkest color) You can also used a smoked pork butt or ham hocks

1 teaspoon whole cloves

6 cups broth (chicken, or beef is fine)

6 cups tap water

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Place the smoked turkey legs in a large Dutch Oven or heavy pot with a lid. smoke turkey legs
  2. Rinse the split peas in a colander and pick out any stones or things that don’t look like they belong (it’s generally some other grain or a pea that didn’t split properly). Immediately add them to the pot. If they sit in the strainer for too long they will stick together like cement!
  3. Add all of the other ingredients to the pot except for the salt and pepper. pea soup ingredientsAlways add these at the end. Since I am using homemade stock, it is unsalted. You can buy unsalted stock and I recommend that, but if you use stock with salt, wait to adjust seasonings since the salt may become more intense with cooking.
  4. Cover the pot and slowly bring to a simmer. This is a abig pot and you don’t want to rush it and have the peas burn.
  5. When the liquid comes to a simmer, skim it if necessary to remove any scummy stuff, which is actually just some of the protein being given off by the turkey. I didn’t need to skim this time.
  6. Once the pot is simmering, make sure it is covered tightly and let it gently simmer for 2 hours. Periodically check it and give the pot a stir so the peas don’t stick to the bottom and burn. You should have enough liquid. but if you must add some, add boiling water so everything is covered by about 2 inches of liquid.
  7. Once the two hours are up, allow the soup to cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, remove the turkey legs and on a cutting board, remove the skin and bones with your fingers. Keep the meat to the side until you finish the next step. If you are using a pork butt, just remove the butt and cube the meat.
  8. You can puree the soup using a food mill or an immersion blender. Frances and my son gave me an immersion blender a couple of years ago and it is one of the most beloved kitchen appliances I have. It’s even ORANGE!
  9. Now add the meat back to the pot. Check your seasonings and add your salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: When this soup cools down, you WILL be able to stand a spoon up. Don’t rush to add liquid to thin it out. Gently warm it and only after you see the consistency, consider adding any additional liquid.

Italian Beef Barley Soup

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Italian Barley soup ingredients

Now that I have this wonderful beef stock on hand, I want to use it to its fullest advantage. This recipe is simple to make (and yes, you can use prepared stock) and is very hearty – just wonderful for these cooler autumn evenings. It’s a dish that can be made ahead and when you get home from work or a busy day with the kids, you have magic on hand.  All it really needs to complete the meal is some crusty bread and if you are feeling REALLY ambitious – a green salad. And leftovers are great to take for lunches. I’m just sayin’.

Italian Barley Soup   Italian Barley soup

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1.5 quarts (6 cups) Homemade Beef Stock

2 cups water

3/4 cups barley

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1 cup yellow onion, peeled and chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed

1/2 cup hearty red wine

1 piece lemon peel (zest only, please) – about 2 inches by 1/2 inch

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Kosher Salt to taste (I start with a teaspoon and add more if necessary)

1/2 Tablespoon dried basil

1/2 Tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 bay leaves, dry or fresh

1/2 Tablespoon dried fresh rosemary

14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes

4 Tablespoons tomato paste

Fresh grated Parmesan, Romano, Asiago or Cubeddu cheese

Directions

  1. Bring the stock and water to a boil. Add the barley and turn the heat down to a light simmer. Add the holy trinity 0f carrots, celery and onion, garlic, red wine, lemon peel, salt and pepper and simmer covered for 2 hours. Stir frequently so the barley doesn’t stick.
  2. At the end of 2 hours, add the herbs, tomatoes and tomato paste. Cover and cook for on more hour. Continue to stir often so the barley doesn’t stick. Adjust seasonings.
  3. When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with cheese.

Home-made Beef Stock

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

Oh my goodness! If you want your house to smell AMAZING, make your own beef stock. And while I will admit that I use prepared stock – chicken, vegetable and beef – all the time, whenever I do make my own stock, I am in raptures and can’t believe I don’t do it all the time. The taste difference is incredible and the amount of protein that you derive just from the stock is much higher than even the best stock you can buy. The real barrier for me is not time since the active time in making beef stock is minimal; it’s space. I have a small kitchen with an average fridge and small freezer. However, once the temperature starts dropping and that wind is blowing off of the lake, I am making soup every week.

After I tell you how to make this wonderfully rich stock, I’ll show you how to make a delicious Italian Barley soup from it. Now you could make the soup with commercial stock. You  could even keep it Vegan by using a vegetable stock – and it will be good – very good even. However, if you want it to be great, make your own stock. Becasue this stock is so rich, a little goes a long way and you will almost always cut it with some water.

Beef Stock

Yield: About 5 quarts

Ingredients

5 pounds of beef rendering bones, stripped of all meat (This used to be the kind of thing that butchers just gave away, so was incredibly frugal. Alas, those days are gone.)

3 large yellow onions, quartered, with skins left on (it gives wonderful color to the stock)

1 bunch celery, chopped into thirds

1 bunch carrots, chopped into thirds  beef stock veggies

5 quarts of water

Directions

  1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Place your bones on a heavy duty pan with 2-3 inch sides. You can use a disposable pan set on a baking pan or just line your pan with foil for easier clean-up.
  3. Place them in the oven for up to 2 hours, but be careful that they don’t burn. You want them toasty brown not black. Mine only took about 1.25 minutes this time. Every oven is different.  toasty beef bones
  4. In a large heavy duty pot or Dutch Oven with a tight fitting lid, place all of the veggies in the pot and add the bones and water. Bring to a heavy simmer, cover, and place in a 225 degree F oven for 12 hours or overnight.
  5. That’s IT! All you need to do is discard everything but the liquid when it has cooled and you are ready to go.  Using a strainer over a bowl makes this easy work. straining stock2This is so rich it will gel in the fridge. You can freeze some in ice cube trays for when you need small amounts, and freeze or store in the fridge the rest in one quart containers.  straining stock1