Pot Roast Soup

     This recipe is based on a soup my dad used to make.  Yes, dad did a lot of cooking too, in fact he used to cook all the weekday meals since both  my parents worked and he was the first one home.  I don't think dad really enjoyed cooking that much, it was just something he had to do, even though he was pretty good and very often was quite creative (you never knew what you were gonna get that night).  One thing was for sure though, dinner was at a certain time and you had better be home or else.  Many a time I had to leave in the middle of a baseball, football, or basketball game to teasing chants of "I gotta go home and eat" from my friends!

     When I make soups, I usually do so in 2 different pots.  In the first pot, I have whatever meat will be in the soup and build a stock with it along with some veggie scraps, and spices.  In the second pot, I have the vegetables that will be in the finished soup along with some spices and a container of store bought stock. Do all your prep work in advance, it makes things go much smoother and quicker, so I always start by doing all my chopping and cutting first. For this soup I like a lot of meat because it comes out so tender and delicious.  I usually buy 1 large pot roast or 2 smaller ones.  I prefer to buy the bone in pot roast because it adds flavor to the soup.  For this particular batch of soup I made they had no bone in pot roast so I bought a large boneless one and added 2 beef shanks to help flavor the soup.  You can even buy beef bones at the store and use them along with a boneless pot roast, entirely up to you.

I always put a light coating of flour on the meat before I brown it and season it generously with salt and pepper.  Brown all the pieces of meat and bone in the olive oil on both sides, all those brown bits add up to flavor in the soup. You can do them in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan and steam them instead of browning them.  After browning all the meat and/or bones, return them all to the pot and cover in beef broth and or water.  I used 1 large carton of good beef broth and the rest water.

Now you build the flavor of the soup.  Add a whole onion quartered, 8-10 whole garlic cloves, a couple of whole carrots quartered along with the tops of the celery that have been rinsed (use all the scraps left from prepping the veggies for the soup as well), add the leaves of the celery they are full of flavor don't throw them out!  Add 2 bay leaves, some large sprigs of parsley stems and all, several whole peppercorns, and some good sea salt, bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer and let it go low and slow!

       Now on to the other pot.  In this pot I start to build a base for the soup.  As I said earlier, I like to have all my prep work done before I start to cook so you will need to cut up 5-6 carrots, 5-6 stalks of celery, 1 large onion, and  6-8 cloves of garlic.  If you like a lot of vegetables in the soup, use more, if not, use less, up to you.  I like to cut them up in rather large pieces since they are gonna cook up in the soup, it makes the soup a little heartier and more rustic.  Start by heating some olive oil in a medium soup pot, add the chopped onions and let them saute for about 6 minutes until they begin to get translucent.  Next add the garlic for a few minutes followed by the celery and carrots.  At this point I will add some sea salt and pepper and allow the veggies to cook together for about 6-8 minutes more stirring so they don't brown.  Next add 1 large can of whole or chopped San Marzano tomatoes.  Allow this to come to a good boil stirring frequently.  Now add 1 large container of beef broth and 2 bay leafs, bring to a boil again and reduce to a simmer.  Taste for salt and pepper adding if needed.

 

Allow both pots to cook low and slow. After the pot roast has cooked long enough for the meat to be tender (about 1 1/2 hours), remove the meat to a plate and check it for tenderness. It should fall apart rather easily when pulled with a couple of forks, if it does not return it to the pot to cook a little longer. If it is tender then allow it to cool enough that you can handle it and break it into the desired size pieces.  I like to leave it in large bite size pieces.

                                                                                
Now you have to strain out the beef broth that you have created.  Use a large slotted spoon or wire strainer to scoop out the large pieces of vegetables in the stock, throw them away, they have fulfilled their flavoring destiny.

                                                                                
 Then pour the broth through a strainer into another pot or large bowl to catch all the peppercorns or any other small bits.  Now pour the strained broth through the strainer a second time back into the large soup pot.  Add the meat that has been broken up and if you like the bones can go back in.  After cooling enough, mine usually end up going to the dogs however.  Bring everything together by adding the pot with the veggies and broth to the pot with the meat and stock!  Taste for salt and pepper.

Basically the soup is done, except I like to let it come together for a few minutes, then finish it by adding a bag of fresh spinach or a strained box of frozen spinach.  The spinach melts in the soup and with the pot roast and tomatoes and other veggies it is terrific!

                                                    

I like to serve the soup with orzo pasta, but it is very hearty and can stand up to any pasta or none at all.  I even poured it over cheese tortellini one time and it was fantastic!  Garnish it with chopped fresh parsley, thinly sliced lemons, fresh grated parmigiana and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Serve with crusty bread or great with garlic bread! Enjoy!