TriVita’s Healthy Hearty Soups Part 2 of 5

With a relentless winter storm finally on the move and with one last savage breath it is hammering the Northeast today changing to all rain by evening, although freezing rain–ice–may hang on in some valleys, now is the time to try another of TriVita’s delicious soup recipes.

TriVita’s Big Beefy Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:
2 lbs. beef shank crosscuts
4 cups fat-free beef broth and 1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 to 4 sprigs parsley
4 sprigs thyme
3 stalks’ worth celery leaves
2 bay leaves
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 cups peeled tomatoes, chopped
1-1/2 cups peeled sweet potatoes, chopped to
1/2-inch cubes
1 cup parsnips, chopped to 1/2-inch cubes
1-1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, sliced
2 cups pea pods (fresh), halved

Directions:

Trim fat from beef shanks. Combine meat, water, broth, salt and pepper in a large kettle or large Dutch oven. Put celery leaves and bay leaves on a 10-inch-square double thickness of 100% cotton cheesecloth, tie into a bag with a clean string, and add to Dutch oven. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer covered for two hours. Remove meat from soup and set it aside to cool. Cut meat off bones and coarsely chop. (You can discard the bones.) Skim all fat from the broth, and add parsley, garlic and thyme. Stir chopped meat, parsnips, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery into broth, then return entire mixture to boiling. Then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in pea pods and simmer, covered, for about two more minutes. Remove cheesecloth bag and discard. Cooking takes about two hours and 15 minutes. Makes about six servings.

Source: TriVita VitaJournal January 2005 pg 12.