email this pageIt is tempting to call vegetable beef soup "American minestrone," for it is to us what minestrone is to Italians. Like that hearty soup, its style and content varies from region to region. It also varies with the seasons. As the year revolves from spring to summer and back around again, the soup is adapted by the addition of fresh seasonal produce.
In the spring down South, we omit the parsnip and use sweet young peas, fresh spinach, chard, or beet greens cut into ribbons, and, in the last 10 minutes of cooking, a cup of tender asparagus spears. In summer, we add about two cups each of diced fresh tomatoes and sliced okra and a cup or so each of fresh-cut corn, string beans, diced squash and butterbeans. As summer gives way to fall, we add a cup of diced winter squash, about two cups of pinto, great Northern or cannellini beans, and a handful or so of kale or young collards cut into ribbons. This recipe, featuring parsnips, turnips and cabbage, is for the winter season.
Regardless of the season, the best accompaniments are crusty cornbread, a hearty, substantial home-style yeast bread, or toasted saltine crackers (warmed in a 200F oven).
Winter Vegetable Beef Soup
Ingredients
3 pounds meaty beef shanks or bone-in chuck roast
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 ounces thick-sliced lean salt pork (about 5 slices) (optional)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
2 large sprigs each fresh parsley, thyme, and marjoram or oregano, chopped
10 cups water
2 cups canned tomato puree
3 large ribs celery, peeled and diced
3 to 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium turnips, peeled and diced
3 medium parsnips, peeled and diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
½ small green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced into 1-inch-long strips (about 3 cups)
2. Add water and tomato purée, increase heat to medium, and return to a simmer, skimming off any scum that rises. Add celery, carrots, turnips, parsnips and cabbage, return to a simmer, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer about 2 hours or until meat and vegetables are very tender.
3. Remove and discard salt pork. Remove meat and cool slightly. Cut into bite-size pieces, cover and refrigerate until just before finishing the soup. Either skim off excess fat from top or let the soup cool, chill until the fat hardens (about 4 hours or overnight), lift off layer of fat, and discard.
4. When ready to serve, return meat to the pot, and cook about 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat until heated through.
Recipe by Damon Lee Fowler, "Relish the American Table," Dec. 3, 2006.
Related Stories
If you enjoyed reading this story, Soup Supreme, then you might enjoy these other stories.Share This Story With Others:
There are no current discussions for this article. Why not be the first?
