Tomato Beef and Greens Soup – Recipe!

After the holidays the leftovers can be abundant.  I usually cook beef on Christmas day, not a rib roast, but a tenderloin.  Beef Tenderloin is buttery and it melts in your mouth, and I know it’s on the expensive side, so I like to utilize the entire roast, even the next day.  This year I prepared a tomato beef and greens soup – simple, satisfying and delicious.

I decided to make this hardy pot of soup with the remaining slices of beef.  Soup is always a favorite and anything that you can add to a pot of broth, makes mealtime deliciously easy.  Preparing a beef soup in a tomato base with greens is as simple as I can be, and what makes it fun is adding other leftover or pantry items like potatoes, dried pasta or roasted vegetables, for a medley of flavors.

After a half hour or so, you have one delicious pot of soup.  I just love the warm tomatoey mix of flavors because they remind me of a comforting lightened-up Italian meal.  Maybe it’s the aromatics of the oregano, or the small bits of pasta floating about, or the chunks of tender beef in this soup, but what I do know is that it just hits the spot after a couple of days of Christmas cheer.

Ingredients

1/2 pound of cooked beef, any cut

1 onion sliced thickly

1 clove of garlic

2 cups crushed tomatoes

2 cups beef broth

1 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1 bunch mustard greens, or swiss chard – removed from stem and roughly chopped

2/3 cup mini pasta or macaroni

salt & pepper

olive oil for cooking

(Serves 6)

To Prepare:

1. Cut beef into large cubes, set aside.
2. In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and place over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, stir.  Cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, broth, and oregano stir.  When boiling, add mustard greens and stir.  Turn heat to simmer and cover pot with lid.  Cook for 20 minutes.
4. Add beef, 1 /2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, stir.  Cover with lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add pasta and 1/2 cup hot water and stir.  Cook for 6-10 minutes, depending upon size of pasta.  Ladle into bowls and serve with a slice of rustic bread.  Enjoy!