vegetable beef soup

I always feel like thanksgiving is the shift in weather in san diego, where there are more cold days than warm days. Where you can switch out shorts and t’s for yoga pants and sweaters. When it’s time for one pot hearty, comforting meals.

This is the perfect fall one pot meal, chock full of fresh veggies from our csa box and some stew meat from our butcher box.

I will also bulk it up for the growing teenagers, by adding pre-cooked pasta to their bowls, which is one hundred percent your prerogative as well.

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp evoo, divided use

2 lbs stew meat

2 tsp salt, divided use

2 leeks, halved, sliced, and cleaned

8 ribs of celery, ends trimmed and chopped

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried italian parsley

8 cups chicken stock

28oz canned whole tomatoes, tomatoes broken up with scissors

3 potatoes, peeled, chopped in ~ 1 inch pieces

2 cup of green beans, stemmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch kale, chopped and deveined

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 bay leaf

Directions:

Toss cubed stew meat with 1 tsp salt.

Bring 4 Tbsp evoo to shimmer on medium high heat in a large dutch oven.

Add stew meat, working in batches to brown, removing pieces once browned. Turn heat down to medium low.

When all meat has browned, add an additional 1 Tbsp evoo to bottom of the pan. Add leeks and sauté until softened.

Add in carrots, celery, cauliflower and garlic. Sauté until softened.

Add tomato paste and 1 tsp salt, pepper, oregano, and italian parsley. Stir to combine and so dried spices become aromatic.

Add in chicken stock and whole tomatoes. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add potatoes, beef, green beans, 3 sprigs of rosemary, bay leaf, and kale to the pot. Let boil for 10 minutes, then turn down to simmer.

Let simmer for 40 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.