Winter is coming and it might be time to start thinking about hearty winter soups to keep you warm this winter. Some of the tastiest can be prepared with tubers and a good broth. Homemade vegetable broth can be made with things you would normally throw away, carrot peels, tops and bottoms, onion skin that gives a nice tan or brown color, broccoli stalks, and cabbage leaves, turnips, or other greens. If you also add a whole onion glued on top and bottom with some cloves, a bay leaf, and some mixed herbs along with black peppercorns, you have a good vegetable broth to use in soups. Use a liter of water and cook the broth for about 45 minutes. It doesn’t cost much, as most of the ingredients would normally be thrown away, and it’s better for you than using a stock cube with preservatives.
Personally, I like root vegetables in a stew or soup and I love pearl barley, which, while not as nutritious as whole grain barley, is easier to cook. You could use oatmeal or whole grains instead, of course, but this recipe is a simple winter one that I hope you enjoy.
You can use potatoes and all or some of the vegetables suggested in the ingredient list, you decide.
You can use an inexpensive cut of lamb’s neck for this recipe with the bones, but trim the fat from the meat. Alternatively, use 200 grams of lamb neck fillet and trim all of the fat.
Hearty winter soup
Ingredients
400 gr of lamb neck, cut into pieces that can be eaten with a spoon
600 grams of any of the following: – turnip, turnip, parsnip and carrot, celery
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 celery sticks, left whole
1 bay leaf broken but intact
2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs or a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
1 large onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 liter of vegetable broth or chicken broth
12 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika pepper
olive oil
100 g green beans, cut into 1 or 2-inch chunks (frozen is fine)
Method
Fry the onion, garlic and lamb neck pieces in olive oil until the neck pieces are “sealed” and the onion is translucent.
Transfer these ingredients to a large pot and add all the other ingredients except the green beans.
Bring the liquid to a boil and stir well before lowering the heat to a simmer.
Simmer and stir occasionally for 45 minutes, then add the green beans, add to the soup, and cook for 15 more minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat, discard the celery stalks and serve the soup piping hot with plenty of fresh crisp whole wheat bread.
Bon Appetite!