Sunday Soup #78: Vegetable Beef Soup

When I asked my friend, Lisa, what soup we should make this past weekend, she said she had been craving a good vegetable beef soup. Vegetable beef soup is a classic, a recipe that should be in every soup cookbook and, if done right, a dish that can please the masses. I found one that seemed like it had some promise: simple, hearty, and classic. But, did it please our crowd?

This recipe came from: https://therecipecritic.com/vegetable-beef-soup/

*Pic 1 - https://therecipecritic.com/vegetable-beef-soup/

Variations from Recipe as Written: We actually ended up with quite a few alterations to this recipe, primarily based on what we had on hand. We used about double the meat called for, and a mixture of cuts (i.e., top round, bottom round, and stew meat). The diced tomatoes we used came already seasoned with Italian seasoning, so we forewent the additional Italian seasoning the recipe called for.  And we used russet potatoes, but they were HUGE, so the recipe wound up very potato-y.

General Thoughts: As usual, when I cook with Lisa, she did a lot of the chopping, so she handled the prep on carrots, celery, and potatoes, as well as cubing the beef. There was a moderate amount of prep involved overall, which was not unexpected for a vegetable beef soup, particularly with needing to brown the meat ahead of time. But, it didn't take extraordinarily long because Lisa is a pro; every kitchen needs a Lisa!

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when we made it

This soup was on the verge of being a stew, hearty and filling, with tasty chunks in every spoonful. The vegetables were perfectly done and may have even been my favorite part. As previously mentioned, it seemed like a few too many potatoes for a proper balance, but it wasn't too overwhelming. The taste was solid and consistent with  many traditional vegetable beef soups I've eaten, made in restaurant kitchens.

However, using different cuts of beef (which we did because we already had them on hand) led to some slightly odd texture and (to a lesser extent) taste variations. Further, the meat, which I was hoping would be flavorful and savory in and of itself, was just kind of bland and... well... beefy. The beef needed to be richer, more tender, and as least as much of a focus as the veggies.

The bottom line is that, as far as vegetable beef soups go, this one was pretty good. But, when considered against the whole universe of other interesting and intriguing soups out there, this one was somewhat unremarkable.

Potential Improvements? Lisa thinks this is one we should make again and make some improvements... I agree, because I think there are plenty to be made. First and foremost, the beef: using 100% stew beef, and marinating it for three-ish hours in a salt, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, and red wine mixture would have given a much richer, deeper flavor and made it more tender. I would use petite diced tomatoes to avoid large chunks (this is a very personal food quirk for me, so you might want to stick with large diced). I'd go a bit lighter on the potatoes to provide better beef/veggie/potato balance. And, I'd probably go a little heavier on the salt and pepper, while going a little lighter on the Italian seasoning. 

Polling the Fam: I thought it was tasty, and it was good leftover, but nothing really special in its current state. I'd love to try again with the improvements above. Becky thought it was okay (but she's not generally a vegetable beef soup fan) and wished it was thicker, like a stew. Lisa thought it was good, but that the broth needed to be richer (maybe homemade beef broth?), there were too many potatoes, and the Italian seasoning seemed "wrong." Jayson thought the best part was the broth, but found it otherwise unremarkable. Hunter thought it was solid, very filling, well-balanced, and liked how he could not taste the celery. And, Fox thought it was okay but that it needed more flavor.

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)