In the Winter I love a good hearty soup with good crusty bread some delicious hard cheese and a green salad. It makes a wonderful dinner that is prepared in one pot. This is a very hearty soup and I say rich because of the beef cubes which add a delicious layer of flavor and make this soup more than a soup more like a meal. As Rachael Ray says a”stoup”. It is thicker than a soup and mine is almost as thick as a stew. You can freeze this soup since it makes so much and you’ll have it for a snowy day when you can’t get to the market for these ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. Beef Chuck Cubes — the butcher section usually has this pre-cut if not just ask your butcher to cut into cubes for stew

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1 whole onion chopped ( yellow)

1 large stalk celery– thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves–roughly chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

3/4 cup Red Wine– any dry red wine will do –I used a Malbec

8 cups Beef Broth–you can use low-sodium if you’d like

1 1/2 cups Water– you’ll need more as you finish but use this to start–at least for the first 2 hours

2 Bay Leaves

1/2 Tsp.dried thyme or fresh –1 Tbsp.

1 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar

3/4 cup Pearl Barley such as Quaker Medium Pearled Barley if you can find if not use whatever you can find

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 ” round slices

Directions:

Dry off the beef cubes with a paper towel then season them generously with Salt and Pepper.

In a large Dutch Oven (Le Crueset) type soup pot, heat 1 Tablespoon of the Vegetable Oil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 the beef and sear it without turning it, until browned on one side–app. 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and add another Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil and continue searing the other 1/2 of the Beef. A little note– you can really sear the beef on one side and transfer it to a plate because it will fully cook in soup. You just want to get a good crust on at least one side of the meat. Remove the meat to a plate and start to prepare the soup.

Lower the heat in pan to medium-low and add the onions, celery and garlic. Cook , stirring frequently and scraping up the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (from the beef) You’ll want to cook until the veggies are soft and onion is translucent, probably another 5 minutes. Don’t burn veggies. You have to keep an eye on them. Lower the heat to a simmer if necessary.

Stir in the tomato paste. Add the beef along with any juices. Add the wine, broth, water , bay leaves, thyme, sugar and a little more salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low . Cover and Simmer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the barley and carrots and simmer, covered until the carrots and barley are cooked and the beef is tender. I cooked for another hour and it can simmer for even longer. Taste and adjust the seasonings. If you like a thicker soup ( and I do) simmer uncovered until your desired consistency is reached. For a thinner soup, add a little more water at a time until your desired consistency is reached. It’s not an exact science. I definitely added more water at the end stage.

*Just a little note –this soup will seem very brothy during the beginning stages but once you add the barley it will quickly soak up the broth so be careful not to reduce too quickly. You can always add water or more broth if this happens. Look at photos of the finished product.

Ladle into bowls and serve!

Soup will keep in fridge for 3 days and frozen for 3 months. 3 months is my limit for frozen . When you re-heat it add some water to bring it back to life and you’ll probably need to add a little salt and pepper as well.

I am so sorry that I haven’t been posting a lot of new recipes lately. We have been busy moving into our new apt. in Manhattan. My kitchen is a small city kitchen but I have had no problem cooking in it . It is just a matter of organization and not having a whole lot of people in the kitchen while I cook. I accepted a smaller kitchen because I really liked other things about this apt. It’s all about the compromise, especially in NYC real estate. That being said I am enjoying living in Manhattan for the first time in my life. I have always spent a lot of time here but never lived here before.  At this point in our lives we decided it was now or never, so it’s now . Food Shopping is a whole new ball game as pretty much everything gets delivered. Since I really like to see what I’m cooking I often go and pick out everything and it all gets delivered to my doorstep — how perfect!

Anyway this is a new recipe for me and it was in the New York Times last week’s food section and it is a perfect Monday Night Meal. Perfect Weeknight Meal. I served alongside some rice and a green salad with a few tomatoes!

Love Love and very light!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons Milk — I used Skim Plus or use Whole

1 teaspoon kosher salt plus you may want more for extra seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for extra seasoning as well

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4- 6 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets. Buy the thinly sliced ones.

3-6 tablespoon unsalted sweet butter –you can use a little less if you’d like . Start with 3 with the lemons and then don’t add the extra 3 just add 1 or 2 and it should be fine.

1 lemon, thinly sliced seeds removed

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups chicken stock

3-4 Tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

Directions:

In a wide shallow bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper until blended. Place the flour in a separate bowl. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

In a wide large skillet heat the olive oil and vegetable oils over medium heat until the oil shimmers

Working in batches because we don’t want to overcrowd the pan. Lightly dredge the chicken in flour and shake off any excess. Dip into the egg batter, let excess batter drip back into the bowl and place in the skillet. Fry cutlet, turning once until golden brown on both sides. Adjust the heat so the cutlets cook slowly and evenly with a steady bubbling of oil. I turned after app. 4 minutes. You will be cooking further so don’t worry if not cooked completely through. You don’t want to overcook.

After you finish cooking cutlets and remove to paper towel lined pan, remove the pan from the heat and pour off the oil. Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel. Return the pan to the heat.

If you’d like to brown the lemon slices you can melt 3 Tablespoons of butter and then scatter the lemon slices turning occasionally until they’re golden and browned around the edges, app. 5 mins. Then remove the lemon slices and set them aside.

Add 3 Tablespoons butter, the wine and the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Boil until the liquid looks a little syrupy, app 3-4 minutes. Pour in the stock and continue to bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened into a sauce, app. 5 minutes. When you place cutlets back into pan it will thicken more) Taste and adjust the seasonings with lemon, salt and pepper, it should be quite lemony and not super salty. I added a little kosher salt and a little more lemon juice because I had an extra lemon in the house.

Reduce the heat, and tuck the cutlets into the sauce and add the lemon slices and simmer very gently and the chicken pieces are heated through, app. 4 minutes. Turn the cutlets over occasionally in the sauce. Place the browned lemon slices on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley ( which if you’re wondering why they’re not in the picture) I forgot to sprinkle on top!!! Too anxious to taste this I guess. I plated up some rice pilaf and the chicken and placed some lemon slices on top. I served with a green salad but any green vegetable would would be lovely.