Recipe for "veg-soup-2"

NAME

     VEG-SOUP-2 - A thick and hearty vegetable beef soup
     This soup is almost thick enough to be called a stew.  It is
     great on a cold day or after skiing.

INGREDIENTS (5 liters)

     500 g     beef soup bones (As meaty as possible.  Meaty neck
               or cross-cut shank bones are particularly good.)
     3 l       water
     1         onion (medium to large, quartered.  Don't  try  to
               use instant onion in this recipe)
     1 kg      peeled whole cooking tomatoes (2 large cans)
     100 g     fresh green beans
     2         small carrots
     500 g     unshelled green peas
     1 ear     fresh corn
     3         bay leaves
     6-8 g      dried basil (or 20 g chopped fresh basil)
     15-30 ml   dried oregano (or 5 g chopped fresh oregano)
     15 ml     dried thyme (or 5 g chopped fresh thyme)
               salt and pepper

PROCEDURE

          (1)  In a large heavy pot, bring 3 liters of  water  to
               boil.
          (2)  Add beef bones, cover and bring back to full boil.
          (3)  Reduce heat to low simmer.  Skim occasionally dur-
               ing first 30 minutes to remove scum.  Cook for 3-4
               hours until meat is tender and nearly falls off of
               bones.
          (4)  Remove bones from broth.  Remove all meat and mar-
               row from bones and return to the pot.
          (5)  Add tomatoes (including juice) onion,  and  herbs.
               Simmer for 20 minutes.
          (6)  Remove  tomatoes,  break  up  into   quarters   or
               smaller,  and return to the pot.  Continue to sim-
               mer during next step.
          (7)  Clean green beans and break  into  pieces.   Clean
               carrots and slice into thin slices.  Slice kernels
               from ear of corn.  Shell peas.  Add vegetables  to
               pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.
          (8)  Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

NOTES

     I prefer beef neck or shank bones  over  what  markets  call
     ``soup   bones''   which   are   nearly   devoid   of  meat.
     Individual-serving size cans of green beans, corn and  green
     peas  may  be substituted if fresh vegetables are not avail-
     able.  These are the basic vegetables I use, but I have also
     added  mustard  greens, chinese cabbage, zucchini and yellow
     squash (add just 5 minutes before  serving  or  they  become
     mush) turnips and any other fall/winter vegetables that look
     good in the market.   Serve  with  cornbread,  sourdough  or
     another strong flavored bread.  This soup improves with age.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy to moderate.  Time: Several hours of inter-
     mittent attention.  Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Pamela McGarvey
     UCLA Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Los Angeles, California, USA
     {hao,sdcrdcf}!cepu!pam