Homemade Beef Vegetable Soup—
from Mary Ferrill Nyman
[This is probably the single most treasured recipe we have in our family for soup. All of us make it and and have stayed pretty true to the original recipe. Ed.]
- 1 lb. beef shank
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large can of tomatoes
- 3 or 4 good size potatoes
- 1 small turnip, cut into small chunks
- 1 large pkg of mixed vegetables (beans, corn, carrots, and peas)
- Salt and pepper
In a good sized soup pot, add the onion and the beef shank. Beek shank is good for soup, has a lovely flavor, and it's cheap.
On medium high heat quickly brown the meat on both sides in a bit of oil. Stir to keep the onions from sticking. This just takes a couple minutes. Once the meat is nicely browned, cover the meat and onions with a quart of water. Add the peppercorns and the bay leaf. Let it simmer for an hour or so.
When the meat is tender, take it out of the broth and cut it into bite size pieces. Skim the broth to remove any ugly floaties. (You could strain it if you wanted at this point. If so, you might want to add another bay leaf and peppercorns.)
Put the meat back into the stock, add the canned tomatoes and their juice and reheat.
About a half hour before serving add the turnip and potatoes and continue to cook. If you have functional but not particularly fresh produce to use up, this is when you would add your uncooked vegies like carrots or celery. Don't use strong vegetables like broccoli. If you don't like turnip, cabbage is nice for flavor, but add that with the frozen vegies, otherwise it gets too mushy.
(When the potatoes are done, you should have just pulled your fresh bread out of the oven.)
Fifteen minutes before serving, add the frozen vegetables and let the soup cook until the vegies are tender.
Season with salt and fresh pepper to taste.
Needless to say, this soup is just as good the second day.
Updated January 17, 2006