Extra recipe to accompany story, “Super Suppers,” published 11-17-2011
1-1 1/2 pounds stew beef, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 beef soup bone
Water
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion if desired
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups green beans cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup peas
Place soup bone and stew meat in a large soup pot, add onion, garlic and salt and pepper to taste and fill with water until pot is about half full. Simmer over medium-low heat for 2-3 hours, adding water as needed. When meat is cooked, remove stew meat and soup bone with slotted spoon. Pick meat off soup bone. Discard bone and set meat aside. Let broth chill in refrigerator until fat rises to the top of the broth. Skim off the fat and return the soup pot to the stove over medium heat.
Return meat to broth, add bay leaf, ketchup, potatoes, carrots and 1/2 cup chopped onion. Add 2-3 ����cups beef broth (You can use 1 cup water to 1 teaspoon beef bouillon to make broth).
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer an hour or so. Season with black pepper to taste, and then add tender vegetables like green beans, corn and peas after the carrots and potatoes have softened. Continue to simmer about a half hour or until all of the vegetables are tender. Add salt and black pepper if needed.
This is a low-and-slow soup that Leslie tends throughout the day to make sure there’s enough liquid in the pot and tastes often to correct seasonings. Instead of beef broth, she uses 1 cup water per 1 teaspoon beef bouillon. She also uses whatever vegetables she has on hand and may use more of one vegetable or another to make up the difference. For example, if she doesn’t have a package of frozen peas handy, she might use more corn or green beans. This soup gets better with time, too. If you make it on a Sunday, you can refrigerate it, covered, and serve when you get home from work on Monday. To serve, skim fat from the top of the soup and just heat.
