Boeuf Bourguignon Soup

This recipe comes from a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living. It is delicious, and pretty easy as soup recipes go. I've never been a big fan of making soup-- too much chopping, too much planning ahead and simmering. But maybe making more soup can be part of me growing as a person! I made it even easier by using pre- cut stew meat instead of short ribs.

4 bone-in short ribs (2 inches thick, 2 lbs total) * I used about 2.5 lbs of beef stew meat.

coarse salt and pepper

2 tsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. EVOO

8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered

3 carrots, 2 finely chopped and 1 cut into 3/4- in. cubes

3 shallots, minced

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

2 strips bacon, thinly sliced crosswise * as per my MO, I used 3 slices

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

2 thyme sprigs

1 dried bay leaf

1 C. dry red wine, such as Burgundy * I used [yellow tail] pinot noir

8 C. homemade or store- bought low- sodium beef stock * I love how they specified homemade or store- bought-- aren't those the only two kinds?

2 C. water

1. Season ribs (or stew meat) with 1/2 tsp. salt and some pepper. Coat with cornstarch. heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium- high heat. Lightly brown ribs on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add mushrooms to pot. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add cubed carrot to same bowl. Set aside.

3. Add shallots, celery, bacon, and chopped carrots to pot. Cook until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste.

4. Return ribs with plate juices to pot. Add thyme and bay leaf. Raise heat to high. Add wine. Cook, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add stock and water. bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until beef is tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

5. (Remove ribs. Separate meat from bones; discard. Cut meat into bite- size pieces; return to pot.) * You can skip previous step if you use stew meat. Add reserved mushroom- carrot mixture. Bring to a simmer; cook until cubed carrots are tender. Season with salt.

I cooked whole wheat egg noodles (about 6 oz probably) and added them right before serving, just to give the soup a bit more substance.

Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before using. Skim fat from top and reheat.

This was really SOOOO good. You can see how using the stew meat simplifies this recipe immensely. I am picky about my stew meat though, because it is so often tough and yucky. I have had great luck with the stew meat at Right by Nature (they'll cut it for you if they don't have any in the case). This time, I used meat from Giant Eagle because I was there. I used a mixture of Nature's basket natural beef stew meat and their angus beef stew meat. I was very pleased with how it turned out-- tendered up quite nicely-- no gristle to speak of.

I am also posting the recipe for Horseradish chive bread, which in insanely good and goes insanely well with this soup!