Okay, so how many of you guys get excited when the weather starts getting a little crisper?? I know I do!
Conveniently, when the cool weather comes it’s just about time to start restocking my freezer with delicious soups, not to mention chili and gumbo!!
Now, why is it that my freezer gets stocked? Because my momma never taught me how to make a small soup … and I’m not even mad about it!
When I think back to why this is my favorite soup, it isn’t the bone warming effect, it’s the fact that it brings me back to simpler times. To a time when the world was a slower place and an all day cooked meal wasn’t that much of an inconvenience. Back when I was a kid! Ahhhh … the memories!
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In our family, vegetables were a big thing. I’m not saying I could be a vegetarian or anything because I love meat, but I could come close! So it only makes sense that we had soups loaded with yummy veggies! But no matter what you add to a soup, if the base, or ‘juice’ isn’t done right, you’ll have a big ol’ pot of blahh.
Now because I love countless vegetables, and I have ZERO self control when it comes to them, my ‘soup pot’ is a 16 qt heavy bottomed stockpot. I know that sounds big but once you start adding all the veggies, you’ll appreciate the extra space! And before I get started, I make sure to have some space in the freezer for leftovers – fair warning!!
Now, if you follow my blog, you’ve noticed I like to take advantage of flavor every chance I get. While my mother and grandmother would normally just boil their meat to start their broth, we’re going to sear ours in a little olive oil! The searing process allows the natural juices to caramelize which automatically gets that savory profile started. Once again, grabbing flavor where flavor is accessible!
Since our local grocery store had the sirloin tip roast on sale, that’s what I’m using today, but any beef roast or stew meat works great. Just keep in mind that the cook time will increase with tougher meats.
Cook’s Tip: Anytime you cut up a large piece of meat, like roast, you want to make sure you have a very sturdy and well sharpened knife. It would be a shame to tear up a beautiful piece of meat with a dull or rough knife.
Jump to Recipe
Let’s get to it, shall we? Start by cutting your beef roast into 3″ cubes and pat dry with a paper towel. Season the meat with salt and pepper and get ready to brown the meat in some heated olive oil over a medium fire.
Only place a few pieces of meat at a time, if you overcrowd the pot, you’ll end up steaming the meat instead of getting that desired sear!
Once you get all the meat seared, you’re going to notice the bottom of your pot is holding tons of the good stuff! Again – FLAVOR!! This recipe calls for a good bit of onions, but only some are going to be used at this point. The diced onion is going to help get up all the caramelized juices from the roast. You may find that you need a splash of liquid to help with this. I used red wine but beef broth or plain water works just as good.
Cook the onions until they are tender and starting to brown.
After the onions are tender and have started to brown, add the stock/broth, water, meat, chopped onions, celery, lima beans, and peas, basil and bay leaves. Bring this to a hard boil then turn your fire to a medium/low heat. Let this cook on its own for about 2 hours. NOTE: If you find the meat is getting tender quickly, start adding the rest of the items sooner than 2 hours.
I add the lima beans and peas at this point because they need more time to get tender.
While that’s cooking and the meat is working on getting tender, it’s time to get the vegetables ready. I’ve listed the vegetables I use, but if you choose to change it up, add them to the broth accordingly. You don’t want to add something like potatoes too early and have them dissolve, so don’t add them (and others like them) until 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat.
Here’s how I assemble my soup and when I added everything:
When the liquid is added to the stockpot and brought to a boil:
- 2 onions & 3 stalks celery – chopped, not diced
- 12 oz bag of small lima beans
- 12 oz frozen pinkeye purple hull peas
- dried basil
- bay leaves
- 2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 Tbsp beef flavored Better than Bouillon
Two hours into cooking:
- Small head of cabbage
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- corn
30 minutes before soup is finished (depends on meat tenderness). (Usually an hour after adding the cabbage, tomatoes, and corn.
- turnip roots
- carrots
- russet potatoes
- green beans
- minced parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
Vegetable Beef Soup
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb beef roast
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp salt, to season meat
- 1 Tbsp black pepper, to season meat
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 32 oz vegetable stock
- 32 oz beef stock
- 8 cups water
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cubes beef bouillon
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 8 oz lima beans, frozen
- 8 oz pinkeye purple hull peas or field peas frozen
- 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- 1 small head of cabbage, chopped
- 2 whole corn on the cob, kernels removed – cobs scrapped for the 'milk'
- 3-4 medium russet potatoes, chopped
- 1 large turnip root, chopped
- 3-4 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- water, as needed during cooking
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut roast into 3" cubes, season with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in 16QT stockpot and sear meat. Avoid overcrowding pieces during this process. Set meat aside once browned.
- Add diced onion and a splash of liquid (wine, broth, or water) and continue to cook on medium heat until onions are tender and starting to brown. Stir frequently.
- Return meat to stockpot. Add ingredients listed from vegetable stock through peas, bring to a boil then cover and lower heat to medium/low.
- After two hours of cooking, add cabbage, corn, and diced tomatoes. Cover and continue to cook on medium/low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Once the meat has started to become tender, add all remaining ingredients. Cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes on medium/low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Serve when root vegetables are fork tender.
Looks like I’ll be making soup today and I’ll use lots of your tips!
With the temps we have today, a soup on the stove sounds like a great idea! Hope you like it!