Let’s proceed to the next basic cooking event: a beef broth & some ideas on simple consommé … or light soups … just a bowl filled w/ hot broth & some vegetables you’d like for a weeknight snack!
Why do I keep myself busy w/ producing a beef broth? In general I’d rely on my trusted food store where there are different ready-to-use stocks (available as beef, chicken, duck, lamb, vegetable …) … I’d grab a glass container w/ stock, add vegetables, add pasta, add … you know. That’s the quick & easy straightforward approach to a straight consommé or light soup.
What happened?
Some weeks ago I ordered a meat packet (beef only – ethical husbandry – ethical feeding – organic meat also on offer) from a crowdbutching service. It isn’t possible just to order some fillet of beef or some rib-eye steaks – no: you’ll always get a variety covering the whole cow. So I ended up w/ a nice piece of beef for making soup.
… & I set to work!
What do we need?
It’s a lot, but it’s easy to prepare:
- beef for making soup
- celeriac
- leek
- carrots
- onion
- parsley
- bay leaves
- peppercorns
- salt
- water.
It doesn’t take long to chop the celeriac, the onion, the carrots & the leek.
You don’t need to do any fine chopping: large pieces will do.
Add the parsley, the bay leaves, the peppercorns & salt:
Add the beef: just cut it into rather thick slices!
Finally add water – lots of water & start bringing the water to a boil. Close the lid & reduce the heat to allow simmering for some hours.
I don’t create stock! A stock would mean – as I learnt from my cookbooks & from food blogs – that I’d start not only w/ some beef for making soup, but had to lay hands on some proper bones & marrowbones & roast them in the oven for a while. Afterwards I’d add the bones to the mess I prepared so far & I’d cook it all for some hours …
Finally our simple broth is ready …
Next steps:
- Remove the ingredients & discard anything that you won’t eat anymore … (the leek, the celeriac …)
- Strain the broth to eliminate any disturbing little bits …
What to do w/ the beef broth?
I wrote about something like light soup or consommé …
To begin with: I stored my beef broth in 400 ml containers in the freezer – each ready for 2 servings. So I could just grab for a container in the morning – melted in the evening… (a microwave would do the same in the evening when you forgot to walk to your freezer in the morning!).
So … we start w/ about 400 ml beef broth (for 2 servings) & add:
- 2 thin carrots (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 zucchini (aka courgette) (also thinly sliced)
- 1 big mushroom (thinly sliced)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- some fresh parsley (finely chopped).
Just bring everything to a boil & cook for about 5 min.
Another time we start w/ about 400 ml beef broth (for 2 servings) & add:
- 2 carrots (halved & cut in thicker slices)
- about 50 g snow peas (diagonal chopped)
- about 40 g pasta (small pasta for soups)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- fresh parsley (finely chopped).
Just bring everything to a boil & cook for about 8 min.
Enjoy!
- 300 g beef for making soup
- 1/4 head of celeriac
- 1 stem of leek
- 2 big carrots
- 1 onion
- 1/4 bunch of parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt
- 2.500 ml water
- Clean the vegetables & cut them into pieces.
- Cut the meat into thick slices.
- Put everything in a large pot & fill in the water.
- Let it come to a boil – then put on a lid & reduce the heat for just simmering.
- Let it simmer for about 3 h.
- Discard the vegetables & the meat (or eat whatever you like …).
- Strain the broth.
- Use the broth at once for any soup or leave it for up to a week in the fridge or freeze it (in appropriate containers!).
