Beef Rib Soup (with Lentils)
We had a very large standing rib roast this New Year’s Eve dinner. The left overs provided a splendid cold roast for the next day’s brunch buffet. Michelle’s Mom accompanied it with some of the other dinner left-overs and the usual breakfast things like bacon, sausage and eggs. She also made her warm baked ‘tomato pudding’ (an excellent recipe I’ll connive from her soon and share) which is exceptional with cold beef.
It was also the first time—if you can believe it– Elisabeth actually tried bacon. Like almost everybody else she became a convert. Now I have to teach her that bacon is good in small doses and with-out the extra table salt she insists on sprinkling on it! At least she also feasted on all the remaining left-over roast carrots.
So I have four ribs left over and a piece of the beef. Most of the meat was already cut off the bones and used for other purposes. For those that don’t know a standing rib roast, once it’s carved becomes known as prime rib. This is not an inexpensive cut of meat and I really do enjoy getting the full value, plus it tastes too good to waste any of it! Roasting a soup from the bones and the rib meat is a great way to get a few more delicious meals. I add kale (or Swiss Chard, any hearty leafy green will suffice) and lentils to bring up the flavor, vitamin, protein and fiber content too.
You will notice the amounts on the ingredient are not specific. This is a soup use whatever quantity you need to fill the pot. Making a soup depends on the size of the vegetables and how much beef you have. Go by eye and refine the flavor with your taste buds, its’ not rocket science. Best of all, with a homemade soup you get to control the sodium content—most canned soups have a more than a full day’s supply of salt in one can.
Ingredients:
Beef Ribs, as many as you have
Kale 1 head, or Swiss Chard or other leafy dark greens
1 Cup Lentils
1 Onion, rough chopped
2 – 4 Carrots, chopped
2-3 Celery stalks, chopped
Water
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste.
Olive Oil
1 Rosemary Sprig
Procedure:
1. In a heavy soup pot, heat up a drizzling of olive oil and drop in the onions. When they are beginning to caramelize, add in the chopped carrots and celery. Cook till the celery begins to soften, the carrots will finish in the broth during the rest of the cooking time. Then add the ribs to the pot. If you have large hunks of beef that you don’t wish to use for sandwiches, dice that up and reserve until the ribs are well heated, about 10 minutes. Be careful not the burn anything. You will need to stir the pot and monitor the heat level. Once you have re-seared the ribs and there are nice brown bits in the bottom of the pot, add the water. Obviously you want enough to cover the ingredients, the extra depend on how much you wish to make. Toss in the rosemary, discarding the woody stem.
2. Bring to a soft boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Then add the lentils. Cook till lentils are soft, about 30 to 45 minutes.
3. While the lentils are cooking, remove bones from the pot and slice off the meat, and chop it up. Return everything back to the pot. You still want the marrow from the bones to keep flavoring the soup.
4. Slice the kale into ribbons and add to the soup. Cook till done, anywhere from 5 minutes till you are ready to eat. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Then serve. Oh yeah, remove the bones before serving unless your boys are feral and will enjoy them!
