Escarole or endives are mostly found in salads but are the prefect ingredient for rich broth soups. The natural bitterness is transformed to a slightly sweet taste when boiled in chicken or beef broth. We added organic vegetables, potatoes and beef stew meat to round off all the flavors for this wintery soup.
Origin: our kitchen
Servings: 8
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
• ½ lb beef stew meat (small cubes)
• 3 potatoes (peeled and cubed)
• 1 escarole
• 3 large carrots
• 4 celery stalks
• 1 leek
• 1 large onion
• 2 pints beef stock
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• Fresh pepper
• Whole purpose flour
Preparation
• Coat the beef cubes with flour and fry in a hot pan with olive oil until dark brown on all sides. For best results, let the cubes brown one side at a time, turning them over without stirring. Set aside.
• Clean and cube carrots, celery, onion and leek and bring to a boil in beef or chicken stock. Save the escarole and potatoes for later.
• Add the fried beef cubes and all seasonings and let simmer over medium heat while covered (about 30 minutes).
• Remove the core from the escarole and cut the white and light green leaves into 1 inch strips. Save the top green for plating and serving.
• Add potatoes to the soup after 30 minutes and continue to boil over low heat for 20 minutes.
• Now add and mix in the sliced escarole and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
Serve the soup hot and top each deep plate with the remaining green leaves. Serve with crusty bread or baguette. Soup can be topped with grated old cheese but is optional.
Bon appétit!
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