Vegetable Beef Soup - It's What's for Supper

The TV is reverberating with cheering crowds while a football is being tossed hither and yon on the field. Or is it a player or two being tossed? Never mind. Mr. Century Farmhouse's family is visiting from The Dakotas, it is a glorious fall day in Wisconsin, and a pot of soup is being built while the game is on and the family is gathered in our kitchen. After a trip to the Farmers' Market this morning and an afternoon walk in the woods on the farm - accompanied all the while by one of the kitties - it is time to make the soup we've been talking about all day. Well, I've been talking about it anyway. I love this soup and I plan to share the recipe with you as it is a winner! I always consider a recipe just a plan, so use whatever veggies you have if you don't exactly have what I list below. The soup will still be pretty fabulous. Here you go:

Vegetable Beef Soup a la Century Farmhouse
This recipe makes a BIG pot of soup. Feed a family. Leftovers for the week will taste divine. Enjoy!

About 2 lbs. stew meat
3 T. butter or oil
1 large onion, chopped in 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch pieces
5 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped finely
1 large green pepper chopped into 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch pieces
1 large red pepper chopped into 1/4 inch - 1 /2 inch pieces
3 - 4 large carrots, quartered lengthwise and chopped
3 medium potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3 ounces tomato paste
6 cups roasted tomatoes (directions below), or two 28 oz cans of your favorite roasted and diced tomatoes
5 cups beef broth
1 T. sea salt
1 t. ground black pepper
2 T. fresh flat Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 t. fresh oregano, coarsely chopped
1 t. fresh thyme, finely chopped
1/2 t. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 splashes (about 2 T) white vinegar
extra salt & pepper to taste

*Roasted tomatoes: At this time of the year, I always have an overabundance of fresh tomatoes, so whipping up a pan of roasted goodness takes only a little effort and a bit of extra time. Once roasted, the tomatoes can be used in sauces or soups and can be frozen or canned in jars according to safe canning standards. Butter or oil a flat pan (13 X 9 works well). Wash and roughly chop up fresh tomatoes to generously fill the pan. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Roast for about 2 hours at 400 degrees F. until the tomatoes are very soft and the tops of some are a little charred. There you go!

Let's make soup!
Melt 2 T. of the butter (or warm 2 T. of oil) in a large soup pot. Add the stew meat, sprinkle with a pinch or two of sea salt and brown the meat for about 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan, pour the remaining pot liquor into a bowl and reserve it for the moment. Add the last T. of butter or oil to the pot and begin to brown the onions and garlic. While they are starting to cook, cut the meat into smaller, bite sized pieces if they are larger than about 3/4 inch square. Set aside.
When the onions and garlic are becoming translucent, add the chopped peppers and allow them to cook for a minute or two. Add the potatoes and carrots. Return the meat to the pot and stir it all around; now add the tomato paste and stir it into the veggies and meat to coat them. Add the sea salt and the ground pepper. Stir it all up! Pop the tomatoes, the reserved pot liquor, and the broth into the pot and let it all begin to simmer on the stove.
This is the point at which I step outside to my garden to gather some of the last of the summer's herbs to enhance the soup. For this soup I picked a handful of flat Italian parsley, a few stems of thyme and rosemary, and a few more of oregano. After washing them, I chopped them roughly into tiny pieces and added them to the pot, and oh my, did the kitchen smell heavenly! Of course you can use fresh herbs or dried herbs - if dried is what you have, use about half of the amounts listed above. Splash in the vinegar and let the soup simmer for about an hour. Check the taste of the soup and adjust the salt and pepper/herbs seasonings.
This soup is rather rich and thick in the bowl - not stew thick, but this is a substantial soup - not brothy and thin. If you'd like a thinner soup, add another cup or two of beef broth or water as it is cooking.

Make the meal:
I like to serve this Vegetable Beef soup with crusty bread or corn muffins and a salad. We had some lovely roasted peaches flavored with whiskey vanilla for dessert, and I added some homemade sugar cookies to the table as well. Serve with a dry red wine or beer if you'd like. And trust me, the leftovers of the soup will be even better the second time around.....