Hot Caldo De Res (beef soup) For A Cold Rainy Day

We thought we would make a hot soup on this cold rainy windy day...why not Caldo de Res which is a beef soup/stew? We did. enjoyed it and even have some leftover for tomorrow. It is nourishing and can be eaten with corn tortillas! The recipe is below. Try it......you might like it!

 

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef shank, bone-in
• 1 medium-sized white onion, small dice, plus 1 cup chopped onion, for garnish
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 12 ounces beef stock
• 12 ounces stewed tomatoes
• 4 ears corn
• 4 baking potatoes, like russets, unpeeled
• 2 chayote, zucchini may be substituted
• 6 carrots, peeled
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more, for garnish
• Water, to cover
• 1 head cabbage
• 1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges
• Corn tortillas, for garnish
• Sliced jalapenos, for garnish

Directions

Chop the beef shank into large chunks, keeping some attached to the bone, as bone marrow is an important element of the dish. Saute the beef chunks with the chopped onions, salt, and pepper. After beef is browned, add the beef stock and the stewed tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer just below boiling point for about one hour, until the beef is "spoon tender."

Wash the vegetables. Cut each ear of corn and each potato into quarters. Cut equivalent chunks of carrots and chayote (if zucchini is used, keep pieces bigger as they will cook faster than chayote). Add the vegetables to the soup. Chop 1/4 cup of cilantro and add it to the mixture. Add water, to cover, the vegetables and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. Cut the head of white cabbage into 1/2 and then into thirds, leaving the stem of the cabbage in. Wedge the cabbage chunks into the mixture and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve, making sure each bowl has chunks of all the vegetables. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Serve with heated corn tortillas. Caldo de Res is accompanied by chopped sides of onion and cilantro which may be added according, to taste. Also, chopped jalapenos may be added for the perfect hangover cure.