When the cold winds are blowing and its a raindrop kinda day in Cape Town, nothing takes the chill away like a bowl of homemade soup! You may think that to make a pot of simmering heaven you would need to be highly skilled in the kitchen and have all day free. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! With some well used short cuts and easy, beginner-friendly recipes all over the internet, there is no reason why you can’t impress family and friends alike with a wonderful creation of yumminess!
Soup has been warming the stomachs of the masses for nearly 9000 years! It’s all about the fresh, easy, homemade kind of soup that you can share with the fam!
Here’s an easy beef and vegetable soup recipe to try, it might keep you coming back to the pot for me, so don’t say we didn’t warn you!
The ingredients below will easily feed 4 hungry people as a complete meal, with enough left over for a second meal. If you want to make a smaller portion just halve the quantities.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Ingredients
- 400 g Shin beef
- 150 g dried soup mix
- 3 medium carrots grated
- 2 medium potatoes grated
- 1 small swede grated
- 3 medium parsnips grated
- 1 medium leek shredded
- 1 large stalk celery (including any leaves) shredded
- 2 medium tomatoes grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 4 – 6 cups water
Instructions
-
Place the meat, salt and dried soup mix into a pressure cooker and cover with 2 cups cold water.
-
Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
-
While the meat is cooking peel and grate the vegetables.
-
After 30 minutes, release the pressure and add the vegetables, plus another 2 cups of water to the pressure cooker.
-
Cook on high pressure for another 30 minutes.
-
Release the pressure and stir in 2 to 3 cups of boiling water and stir through until you have the consistency of a thin soup.
-
Now thicken the soup with a paste made with 1 tablespoon flour, 2 tablespoons tomato paste and a little water. Stir well and allow to cook for 3 minutes until the soup has thickened.
-
Taste for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Add about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or more to your own taste).
-
Serve with fresh crusty bread or buttered toast.
