The classic comfort soup is a common household name… in my house hold…when I’m talking to my self… BUT it is a classic all the same despite what one might think!
The CCS Special is the soup I make myself 90 percent of the time when I need to make myself a food. It’s got all I could ever want! It has tomatoes (for some vitamin C to fight off scurvy), Potatoes (for some texture), celery (for taste), carrots (for sweetness), and some meat. In essence this soup is the meal I make on everything from a school night to a sit down meal after a night out. The recipes changes slightly every time I make it depending on available ingredients, but todays recipe will be reminiscent of the first ever soup I made myself when I first started living on my own.
You will need:
300g Stewing Beef
150g Potatoes (chopped)
250g Carrots (chopped)
250g Celery (chopped)
150g Onion (diced)
80g Butter
2 cups Tomato Paste
900ml Chicken Broth
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation for this tasty meal is pretty straight forward and simple
- wash all vegetables, peel potatoes, cut vegetables and stewing beef to size
- place half butter and onions in a pan and cook till onion is tender and then add meat.
- mix, once meat is cooked on all exposed surfaces “but still very rare” add in tomato paste and set to med to med low heat for 10 minutes
- in another pan, put in butter 200ml of chicken broth and potatoes. cook till soft.
- once potatoes are tender, add rest of chicken broth as you also add in celery and carrots to the pan. let sit till carrots are no longer raw.
- pour the tomato and meat mixture into the pan and mix.
And its done…
Thats about it. This recipe makes approximately 4 servings but If you decide to make this soup just for yourself, you could do what I have done myself many times and freeze the rest for future meals during the week.
The soup itself is simple in appearance. It has a predominately red colour with speckles of green and orange throughout. it smells mostly of cooked meat, tomatoes, and pepper. the taste is similar. The salt and pepper bring out the natural flavours in all of the ingredients resulting in a light but filling soup perfect for any meal. Especially if you like soup.
“yummy. I mean I like how the vegetables have a pleasant texture but are not lost in the liquid of the soup like in a stew.” -Caleb Sandblom 2018-
“What were the challenges involved?”
“Was it a success?”
“What would you do differently?”
I hear you ask…
The only challenge in making this soup is to not overcook the meat. This time it was intact a success. And as to why I would do differently.. In short, everything. The best part about this soup is that it is very much a base and open to endless changes that would result in an equally tasty soup.
Learning to cook for myself in this fashion has shown me that cooking is not only a useful tool, but is also a great way to improvise and be creative depending on the situation. This soup was one of the first of many experiments that I have conducted in the pursuit of feeding myself, and I’m happy to say this one was successful and holds a place in my mind as a sure way to feed myself and a few guests.
SARB 