This is a recipe I have played around with I thought I would share. It’s a huge hit with James and the kids. The measurements here are approximate — so feel free to add/remove or adjust to your own taste.

We like the soup to have a very strong herb taste – so I tend to kick it up a notch on herbs. And, unlike some basic recipes that use beef stock, I prefer vegetable. It gives it a more earthy, fresh taste (in my opinion).

This is a perfect Sunday dinner when you have a bit of time on your hands to put some extra love in a comfy, cozy meal. Great for winter.

1 medium onion
4 medium red potatoes
2 cup of carrots
2 cups of cabbage (or to taste)
2 stalks of celery
Beef (I usually buy a roast and dice it up in bite size pieces)
1 can of diced tomatoes
Vegetable stock (about 8-9 cups worth)
Olive/Saffron oil

Herbs (I am going to list the ones I prefer here. It really is up to your taste-buds. Everything here is measure by personal taste.)
Basil (I do not use much of this, just a pinch or two.)
Fennel seed (Be careful with this stuff. It adds a great flavor, but too much can overpower the soup. I use about two pinches.)
Thyme
Turmeric
Chives
Marjoram
Grounded green peppercorns
Sea salt
Black pepper

First make your vegetable stock. Now, if you do not want to fiddle with this, Swanson vegetable stock is good. I prefer to make my own since it’s easy and packs a LOT of flavor.

My mother’s technique was simple: boil your favorite vegetables along with salt and pepper until they are so tender they are falling a part. I use carrots, potatoes, celery and green onions. Strain the vegetables from the stock. Pick out the strained carrots and celery and puree them until they are basically pulp. Add this to your stock until desired thickness.

Cut your beef into bite size pieces. Remember, this is a soup, not a stew. I sprinkle tenderizer, salt, pepper and diced garlic and let it sit for about an hour. You can season it however you want.  Heat up olive oil and saute the beef until it’s seared. The idea here is to not ‘cook’ the meat, but sear it so it contains the juice while cooking in the broth.

Add the beef to the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then cut the heat down to a medium-low and let it simmer for about an hour. I use a slow-cooker – so I let the meat simmer a bit longer. I then add in a can of diced tomatoes (juice and all). Obviously if you can make your own stewed tomatoes, that would be ideal. But depending on the season, diced canned tomatoes works just fine.

Let the meat, stock and tomatoes cook on medium-low for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, dice your veggies. I cut red potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and cabbage into bite size pieces.

After 30 minutes from adding the tomatoes, throw in the potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Mix your herbs, sea salt and pepper together in a bowl and mid to taste. Try to use fresh herbs. I like to mix and taste before adding to the soup. You might even want to add a vegetable or beef bouillon. (Although they are pretty salty and if you make your own vegetable stock, they are not needed.) Cook until the veggies are at desired tenderness.

Do not be afraid to taste and season the soup as it cooks.  There is really no way to convey how much herb and seasoning I use since it’s and ongoing process during the cooking.

I’ve served the soup with wild rice and it was a hit. However, we mostly prefer it with sweet cornbread and nothing more. If you want to try it with the wild rice, just add a couple of spoon fulls of wild rice (cooked) to the bottom of the soup bowl and then pour the soup over the rice.