A couple of months ago when I was battling a nasty cold, Valdi brought the most delicious bowl of soup to the co-op for me. It was the BEST soup I’ve had in years… perfect for the winter and we have just about everything you need at the co-op. Also, it’s a great way to use up left-over lamb. I like lean meat so leg of lamb or shoulder roast works well for me. Valdi likes a lot more fat, he says it intensifies the flavor, so he uses more soup and rib bones and fattier left-over cuts. To each his/her own.
What you need:
2 – 3 packages of lamb bones and/or ribs (if you don’t have any left-over lamb, use 3-4 times as many packages of bones/ribs, as meaty as possible)
1 – 2 cups diced carrots
1 – 2 cups diced parsnips or turnips
1 – 2 cups diced onion
2 – 4 cups chopped cabbage or kale
2 – 4 cups diced left-over lamb (or use 3-4 times as many soup bones and ribs in broth… so you have more of that meat to use)
1 scant cup rolled oats (I use thick rolled from the bulk bin)
Optional: 2 garlic cloves, chicken broth (I like Better than Bouillon)
What to do:
Fill large stock pot ¾ full of water
Add in bones, a pinch or two of salt, two stalks of celery, 2-3 carrots, a quartered onion, and a bay leaf (I also added two whole cloves of garlic, but Valdi doesn’t use garlic in his soup)
Bring to boil then turn down and simmer, uncovered, for two hours
For the first several minutes of cooking you’ll need to scoop off some icky looking foam. I don’t know why it does this, I just scooped it off like Valdi instructed.
While the broth is simmering dice your veggies and meat
When the broth is done, strain out the bones and spent veggies, and pull meat from bones (if you want a lower-fat version, make sure to trim the fat from the meat and chill the broth for several hours so that you can skim off the fat).
Rinse stock pot then add broth back in, along with a few more cups of water or prepared broth, to fill stock pot ½ to ¾ full. If adding more than three cups of water you’ll probably want to add some Better than Bullion (chicken base) so the broth isn’t too watery.
Bring broth to boil and add in all your veggies, meat, and oatmeal
Turn down to simmer for 20-30 minutes, add more liquid if needed
Add salt as needed
Recipe submitted by Anna, “translated”and adapted from Valdi’s family recipe