Despite the chill in the air, the dying leaves, and the herb bed going dormant, Autumn to me has always felt more like a beginning than an end. This one especially. Not only has it ushered in a hope we've not felt in a while, this week actually marked the beginning of a new decade for me, and is literally ushering in a season that's winter in more ways than just weather.
It seemed like a good time for cooking that offered comfort for more than just a nip in the air, and the best of that kind of cooking usually involves a soup kettle.
Of all the things that come from one of those, none warms and comforts body and soul quite like a thick, hearty vegetable soup. The lovely thing about them is that they're more idea than fixed recipe: they change (or should) with what's available, with what's going on with the weather on the other side of the kitchen window, and, significantly, with what's going on inside the cook's head and heart.
This one reflects what was going on in mine as I passed into my own winter season.
Winter Vegetable Soup
The principles of making a good vegetable soup are basic and pretty much like a good barbecue: low and slow. Build it gradually, paying attention to the combinations of flavors, keep the heat low, and cook it for a long time at the slowest, laziest simmer you can manage.
As Marcella Hazan used to say of a well-made minestrone, no one flavor should dominate, yet all of them should be present and shine at once.
Makes about 4 quarts, serving 8-10
1½ pounds (boneless weight) beef chuck or 2 pounds bone-in or beef shank
Peanut or olive oil
3 quarts (12 cups) beef broth
Salt
1 large yellow onion, trimmed, split lengthwise, peeled, and diced small
2 large ribs celery, washed, trimmed, strung, and diced
2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and diced
2 large parsnips, trimmed, peeled, and diced
10 ounces small to medium turnips (about 2 medium or 3 small), trimmed, peeled, and diced
2 cups diced cabbage
4-5 ounces green beans, washed, topped, tailed, and sliced into ½-inch pieces (a heaped cup)
1 medium yellow squash, washed, trimmed, and diced
1 medium zucchini, washed trimmed, and diced
2 large red or russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons raw (turbinado) sugar
Whole black pepper in a mill
1½-2 cups frozen green butterbeans, thawed
1 14-ounce can or 1½ cups cooked cannellini or other large beans, drained and rinsed
Cornsticks (see 29 September 2017 for the recipe) or warm, crusty bread such as a baguette
1. Wrap the beef in paper towels and pat dry. Film the bottom of a 7-quart Dutch oven (preferably enameled iron) with peanut or olive oil and warm it over medium heat. When it is hot, add the beef and raise the heat to medium high. Brown the meat well on all sides (about 2-3 minutes per side), then season lightly with salt and cover it with the broth. Bring it to a boil, adjust the heat to a gentle simmer, loosely cover, and let it simmer at least 45 minutes to an hour.
2. I prep the vegetables one at a time when I'm ready to add them to the pot. Prepare the onion, add it to the pot, let it come back to a simmer, and cook 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the celery and add it, then the root vegetables, cabbage, green beans, squash, and potatoes, letting it come back to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes between each addition. Add the tomatoes and a level spoonful or so of sugar and several generous grindings of pepper. Taste and adjust the salt, going light with it (you can adjust it later), loosely cover, and let it simmer for an hour.
3. Add the butterbeans and cannellini, bring it back to a simmer, then loosely cover and simmer at least 2 hours longer—more won't hurt a thing. It should be nice and thick, but if it gets a bit too much so, add a little boiling water (not broth) as needed. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper and let it simmer a few minutes longer.
4. About half an hour or so before you're ready to serve the soup, remove the meat and let it cool for at least 20 minutes, then remove any bones and fat, dice it, and stir it back into the soup. Let it warm through for a couple of minutes, then serve hot with cornsticks or crusty b