Vegetable Beef Soup

When I was young and a very finicky eater, my mother used to make a beef soup that I didn't eat. What I did eat, though, was the shredded beef she took out of the soup and fried along with green peppers and onions. I think she'd add a bit of tomato paste (or ketchup?) to the mix and I'd eat it on a buttered roll. It is one of my strongest taste memories. Sadly, I never got the recipe for her soup and I've tried to replicate it several times without success. I had thought she used shin beef, but that never came close to the taste.

This month's Prevention magazine had a vegetable noodle soup with beef that called for using short ribs. I decided to give the recipe--with a few small changes--a try.

Serves 6
For the broth:
1 tbs olive oil
2 lbs short ribs
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
4 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 dried bay leaves
4 sprigs thyme
1 tsp salt
3 qts. water

OptionaL:  grated cheese

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy 6 quart pot. Sear the short ribs until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and partially cover the pot. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off foam as needed. Remove the meat to a cutting board, shred it (discarding fat and gristle), and refrigerate. Strain the stock and refrigerate. When fat solidifies, use a spoon to carefully remove it.

For the soup:
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
2 tbs. fresh thyme, chopped
1 dried bay leaf
4 oz tubettini (or other small pasta, cooked and drained)

Simmer the stock with the onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, and bay leaf for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add reserved meat the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the bay leaf, adjust for salt, and add the cooked pasta. Serve with grated cheese.

N.I. per serving:  276 cal.; 21 g prot; 27 g carb; 4 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 9.5 g fat
***************************************************
TASTE NOTES
I recommend doing all the chopping at one time, separating what is needed to finish the soup. While there is a bit of prep work, the results are well worth it. This soup, though still not the one I remember my mom making, is delicious. It's amazing how sweet the broth becomes from the addition of the carrots and parsnips. The recipe makes a great deal of soup; the servings are quite generous. With some toasted ciabatta, this was a wonderful fall meal.