Paulchens FoodBlog?!

After a short break I am back with participating at The Secret Recipe Club.
Something got mixed up behind the curtains and my little blog was overlooked so it seemed that I didn’t have an assigned blog for this month to cook from but April and Jane did a great and amazingly quick job on squeezing me in in the end and I was happy all over again :)

I am more than happy that April assigned me to cook from Jane’s blog again. I especially love her “comfort foods” and “festive foods” categories oh and not to forget the “desserts” – you can always buy me in with desserts. But she has so many lovely recipes to chose from that it is a hard job to narrow it down and settle on one recipe I want to cook.

Then when I read her “Best End of the World Meal” I suddenly knew what was my Secret Recipe Club meal this month.

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Homemade Beef and Vegetable Soup

adapted from © 2012 Jane Evans Bonacci, The Heritage Cook. All rights reserved
Yield: about 1 quart

INGREDIENTS

Stock

3 tbsp organic olive or vegetable oil
3 lb beef bones, cut into 6 to 7-inch pieces
1 onion, peeled and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 quarts water

Soup
1 quart homemade beef stock
4 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
4 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped –  I used the equivalent amount of shallots, cause I happened to not have any onions at home
1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
Additional vegetables as desired such as zucchini, bok choy, spinach, green beans, bell peppers, etc. chopped – I didn’t add any additional veggies but added two medium potatos because I simply love potatos in my soup
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed well or 2 cups frozen partially cooked brown rice
1 to 2 tbsp beef demi glace or beef base, if desired
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Prepare the Stock: In a large, heavy stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat until shimmering. Add the bones and onions to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until deeply browned, about 30 minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil (scrape the sides and bottom of the pot to release all the delicious goodness!), reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the liquid has reduced to about 1 quart. This can take 3 to 4 hours, but is mostly untended.
2. When the stock is well-flavored and reduced, discard the bones and onions and transfer to a storage container. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze for longer storage.
3. Make the Soup: In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a low simmer.
4. In a medium skillet, melt about 2 tbsp of the solidified beef fat (from the top of the chilled stock) over medium-high heat. You can also use olive oil if you prefer, but I love the added flavor the beef fat gives to the vegetables. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, shallots, and any other vegetables you are using. Sauté, stirring often, about 5 minutes and then add the herbs, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until vegetables are starting to soften but are not cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes. Add to the simmering broth.
5. Stir the beans and/or rice into the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low boil and cook until the vegetables are softened, beans are heated through, and the rice (if using) is tender, about 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. If needed, add the beef base and simmer 1 minute. Taste again and adjust seasonings if needed.
6. If the soup becomes too salty you can stir in 1 cup of water. Ladle into warmed serving bowls and serve immediately.

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I made this soup twice: first time I made the beef stock as described by Jane. Then I ate it all up and had no pictures made for the blog post… so I had to make it again … Second time I used my homemade roasted veggie stock made after a fool proof recipe DKM once posted on her blog.

It has grown to be one of my favorite soups at the moment. It’s quite quick if you have ready made stock in your freezer. Plus I like the texture ot the white beans in the soup. Delicious!!

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…and because the Romanesco in my fridge needed to be used I also made this cauliflower gratin. Beyond yummy I say! Plus if you want to make a vegetarian version just omit the bacon and there you go ;o)

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