I decided to use up the last of the roast beef today by making a delicious soup. Let it be noted, you do NOT have to have leftover cooked beef to make this soup! You can also use regular ground beef!
Not only is this tasty soup hearty and filling, but it is also very economical, using only a few store cupboard staples and if you have it leftover cooked beef! I don't know about you, but, I am always up for watching the pennies!
Not only is it very economical, but it is incredibly hearty and makes for a super quick mid-week or weekend supper. Especially if you pair it with some crusty bread and perhaps a salad on the side!
Soup and a salad works for me! I have also down-sized it from the original recipe to serve only 3 to 4 people or two with a bit leftover. Or, if you are really hearty eaters, a nice top-up!
This is a great example of thrift and economy. This is the type of soup my mother would have made. I think I have also seen it called Goulash Soup, but I could be wrong.
In any case, its delicious no matter what!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TOMATO, BEEF & MACARONI SOUP
Nothing more than some meat and a few store cupboard ingredients, that's what!
- lean ground beef, or cooked beef (minced)
- onion
- garlic
- beef broth (I like to use the gel pots made by Knorr, reconstituted with water)
- tomatoes, both chopped in juice and pureed/strained (passata)
- Worcestershire sauce
- brown sugar
- dried basil
- Montreal steak seasoning
- hot sauce (optional)
- cooked macaroni
- salt and pepper
I always add a splash of hot sauce to mine, but it is by no means required. It all depends on how spicy you like it!
A lot of people ask me about the Gel stock pots that I use. I use the ones by Knorr. You can check them out here. They come in a variety of flavors. Beef, chicken, vegetable, and even fish.
I used them all the time in the UK and was really pleased to see that they were also available here in Canada. You simply reconstitute them with some boiling water.
You can also use other types of stock as you wish. The important thing is that you use beef stock/bullion.
Today I used elbow macaroni for my soup. You can use any short tubular type of macaroni that you want to use.
Ditalini is nice, as are baby shells, straight macaroni, and I have even used shapes like wagon wheels. The important thing is they have a shape that grabs the soup.
HOW TO MAKE TOMATO, BEEF & MACARONI SOUP
This is such an easy soup to make and goes together really quickly, once you have everything prepped and assembled. I am a real mise-en-place type of cook myself.
That way I am less likely to leave something integral to the recipe out by mistake! (Been there, done that!) Its easily done and I just find if you have everything assembled and ready to go, you won't forget things!
You begin by cooking off the ground beef (if using) and the onion in a medium sized saucepan. You can also brown off your minced cooked beef, but do note because there will be no fat in it, you will have to add a bit of fat to the saucepan.
I use butter (preferably), or a bit of light olive oil. If you are using ground beef and its not as lean as you would like, you will have to drain the fat off once its browned.
You will need to season it a bit with salt and black pepper.
Once you have beef and onion cooked, it is a simple matter of adding the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the cooked macaroni. I usually cook the macaroni while the soup is simmering so I can add it hot to the soup at the end.
Just throw everything else into the saucepan, bring it to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Note, if you want to you can add some celery or chopped/sliced carrots to this tasty soup, but it really isn't necessary.
Everything simmers together for about 15 minutes to meld the flavors and the soup is done. All you need to do now is to stir in the cooked macaroni, heat through and serve it up!
If your macaroni is really hot, you can pop it into the heated soup bowls and then ladle the rest of the soup over top. Its really up to you!
If you want your soup to stay nice and hot NEVER EVER ladle it into a cold bowl. That is one sure fire way to cool your soup down quickly.
A soup like this needs to be served hot, hot, hot!! If you really wanted to you could top it with a bit of finely grated Parmesan cheese, which is very nice.
I just love it when the cooler months come along and we can enjoy hot and tasty tomato beef soup such as this one.
But then again, I love any kind of soup. Some other soup favorites are Chicken Noodle ( a childhood favorite), Hearty Tomato & Bean (exactly what it says), Tomato and Rice ( a personal favorite and another small batch recipe), and Farmhouse Cheddar, (rich and tasty.)
There is just something about a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter's day. It is like having a nice warm hug from your mother. It whispers "Home Sweet Home" to your soul.
There is nothing quite like it for bringing comfort to your table or to your belly. I always enjoy mine with some crisp buttered crackers. Oh, and yes, I do crumble some of them in. As my ex boss would say, I am quite common. But then, the best people often are.
Tomato, Beef & Macaroni Soup
Yield: 3 - 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min
Delicious, economical and hearty. You can use either ground beef or leftover minced cooked beef in this tasty soup!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef (or the equivalent of minced cooked beef) (see note)
- 1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 cups (720ml) beef broth
- 1 (14 oz/400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice, undrained
- 1 (14 oz/400g) tin of pureed tomatoes (passata)
- 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- splash of hot sauce
- 1 TBS brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 3/4 tsp Montreal steak seasoning
- 1 cup (115g) macaroni cooked according to the package directions
- salt and black pepper to taste
- crusty bread or crackers to serve.
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and onion together in a medium sized saucepan, until the beef is no longer pink. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Add the broth, chopped and pureed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, basil and steak seasoning. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked macaroni, heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Serve immediately, ladled into heated bowls, along with some with crusty bread or crackers on the side.
Notes:
If using leftover roast beef or cooked beef, you may need to add a tiny bit of fat. About 1 TBS of butter or light olive oil will suffice.
This is probably a dumb question but how do you recommend heating the bowls?
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as a dumb question Wendy! Not at all. You can heat them in a low oven or pour boiling water over them and dump it out as you go to serve the soup. (Any water clinging to the bowl evaporates right away and the bowl stays hot long enough for you to serve the soup.) IN the UK I had a warming oven on top of my main oven and I would just stick bowls, plates etc. in there. In North America, just preheat your oven to 140°F to 190°F (60°C to 90°C)and pop them in for about 15 minutes. It works well with plates as well.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteYou are very welcome! xo
DeleteKnorr's stock pots have been discontinued in the Sobey's and Superstores out here. They were expensive and never did well, sales wise.
ReplyDeleteI bought the last on the shelves a couple of months ago when they were on clearance.
I just checked and they are available on Amazon. I know that's not as convenient as a local supermarket but it's something.
DeleteThanks Wendy, that's good to know. I know they are a bit more expensive than the other kinds, but they are really good! Thanks 50 and counting! I will be on the look out and when I see some, I will snap them up! xoxo
Delete