My All-time Favorite SoupFix Recipe:
You can use lamb or chicken, or go veggie and forget the meat. Just use some bullion for flavor.
3 large carrots
2 stalks of celery with the leaves
½ lb of fingerling potatoes (mixed red and white)
½ package of your favorite dried mix bean soup
1 lb of stewing beef
5 large collard green leaves
1 each red pepper and green pepper
1 medium white onion
2 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
seasonings (to taste): sea salt, freshly ground pepper corns, parsley, thyme, cumin, curry, and sage.
Create the Trinity: In a large sauce pan, cover the bottom with olive oil and let heat. Then stir in the seasons and let simmer for three minutes. Then turn up the heat to medium. Chop onions, peppers, shallots and garlic and add to the Trinity. Cut stewing beef cubes in half add to the trinity. Turn up the heat and brown the beef. Then turn down the heat and let everything simmer for 5 minutes.
While the above is simmering, chop up the carrots, celery, potatoes, and collard greens. Place vegetables and the bean soup mix in a four quart slow cooker and cover with three quarts of water (or half of your favorite broth/half water). Immediately add all of the contents of the saucepan. Turn the pot on high, cover and let cook until the beans, potatoes are tender. Add the butter and let sit for 10 minutes.
This soup goes great with a nice hot baguette. Whole Foods sells baguettes that are not fully cooked. Pop one in the oven. Melt some butter. Don’t butter the baguette and then toast it. Finish cooking the baguette and add the melted butter afterwards.
Pop the cork to your favorite bottle of red wine and what a meal! The best time to enjoy this delicious meal is late-afternoon, very early evening.
