Monday, February 13, 2023

Beef Vegetable Soup (24 of 150)

Its been a blustery winter day today in Seattle. I had hail and some serious torrential downpour. News said we might see a skiff of snow. So when the weather is like this, I like a hot bowl of soup. 

This Beef Vegetable soup fit the bill perfectly. It's a easy, no fail recipe that your cupboards probably have all the ingredients.

The original recipe over at The Cozy Cook has this soup thick. Almost stew like and she serves hers over mashed potatoes. 

For me, I'm trying to cut back on the carbs, so opted to keep this soup like instead of stew like. We'll say more brothy. 

Her recipe uses frozen veggies, which to be fair some of you may have a half of a bag in your freezer. I did not, so I pulled a can of Veg All and a small can of green beans out of the pantry. 

I didn't dredge my meat in flour since, again, I'm trying to keep the carbs lower. I really don't think that would have made too much difference in this soup at all. If you want to thicken it, her recipe includes a cornstarch slurry.

Finally, I didn't put brown sugar in my seasoning mix. Mostly because I skipped right past it, but I also am...say it with me...cutting down on carbs.

This recipe makes A LOT. It serves 10. I cut my by 1/4 and I still have enough left overs for two or three more meals. 


Beef Vegetable Soup
Recipe from The Cozy Cook
Serves 10

Beef Seasoning
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/3 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp garlic powder
  • ¾ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ¼ c flour

Soup
  • 2 lbs. chuck roast, see note 1
  • 3-6 T olive oil
  • ½ c dry red wine, See Note 2.
  • 4 T cold butter, separated
  • 1 c yellow onion, diced
  • 3 T Tomato Paste
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig rosemary, or ½ tsp dried
  • ¼ tsp ground sage
  • 7 c beef broth, or 6 for crock pot to account for liquid reduction on stove
  • 1 tsp better than bouillon, or 1 beef bouillon cube
  • 2 ½ cups frozen peas/carrots/corn/green beans
  • ¼ cup Cornstarch + ¼ cup cold water
  • 2-3 drops Kitchen Bouquet Browning + Seasoning Sauce, (Optional)- Adds an even richer darker color.
  • Chopped parsley, to garnish

Season and sear the meat on each side until just browned on the outside, leave the middle red and cold. Transfer to a plate.

Deglaze the pan with red wine and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot. Let the liquid reduce by half.

Add butter and onions and soften for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add browned beef, rosemary, bay leaves, sage, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and beef bouillon. Cover and leave a small crack for steam to escape. Simmer gently for 2 hours.

Bring to a boil and add cornstarch + cold water mixture. Reduce heat and add frozen vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf + rosemary stem. If desired, swirl in 2 tablespoons cold butter for a smooth, velvety finish. Serve with Mashed Potatoes or Biscuits.

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