Text, Photo, and Recipe: George Graham
I’m driven to poetic prose when I think about the first days of spring and a bowl of my wife Roxanne’s pure vegetable soup—the ultimate comfort food. I call this soup “pure” because of her emphasis on fresh, locally grown vegetables with a keen focus on the purity and potential of this hearty dish. Just cupping your hands around a steaming bowl is enough to warm your soul, and with the first spoonful of the beefy broth, you feel nourished, enriched, loved. She is a passionate cook, and this springtime recipe is her generous expression of farm-to-table family cooking.
Growing up in the rural community of Jennings, Rox had access to farm-grown vegetables that gave her a palate for quality when it comes to the simplest of ingredients. From her grandfather Clodius Fontenot’s farm just down the road in Hathaway, the family always had a steady supply of hand-picked produce as well as freshly preserved or canned fruits and vegetables. She was taught that a pot of vegetable soup is a sensible way to use up an overstocked pantry, and the ingredients that go into this simple recipe depended on what was the ripest and at the peak of season.
- Non-stick spray
- 1½ pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup roughly chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup roughly chopped celery
- 1 cup roughly chopped green bell pepper
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 ripe tomato, chopped
- 1 cup roughly chopped carrots
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup roughly chopped zucchini
- 1 cup roughly chopped yellow squash
- 1 cup roughly chopped broccoli
- 1 cup fresh green beans
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- In a large pot sprayed lightly with non-stick spray placed over medium-high heat, add the beef. Sear the meat until it browns on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper, and cook for 5 minutes longer.
- Pour in the stock a little at a time and stir, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the stock and the tomatoes. Lower the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 30 minutes until the meat becomes tender.
- Add the carrots and potatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, green beans, and peas, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and let the soup rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with saltine crackers and butter, or better yet, a black iron skillet of cornbread.
