I tell you the truth when I say we ate the whole pot to the last drop, and I think I personally ate six bowls, because I have the secret for an easy, delicious soup broth and you won’t believe how easy it is.

Before I list my ingredients, keep in mind you can replace or add in more ingredients as you see fit. There are no hard and fast rules for vegetable soup vegetables, but I do have a few tips on how to make sure the soup has flavor with a good broth.

Making the Best EASY Soup Broth

While the vegetables you add will certainly add flavor to your broth, you want to start with as much flavor as possible. This is why I do this:

• 2 Quarts of organic boxed broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable broth).
• 1 large can of tomatoes. (I squeeze the tomatoes with my hands and add in all the juices). I prefer using San Marzano Tomatoes, but you could also add in a good tomato puree. It’s the mix of the broth with tomato that tastes so good.

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More Hearty Soups from Spinach Tiger

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Homemade Vegetable Soup

Paleo, Low Carb Vegetable Soup, Easy

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword vegetable soup

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1 16 oz can San Marzano Whole Tomatoes or tomato puree
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 4 carrots diced
• 1 turnip
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 whole cauliflower head
• 1 cup chopped kale
• 1 teaspoon salt more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper more to taste
• 1 cup frozen peas optional
• parsley
• 1/2 cup pecorino romano for serving
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes to add extra heat
• 1 cup frozen peas or white beans optional

Instructions

• Put oil, broth, and tomatoes in dutch oven (or crock pot). Use your hands to break up the tomatoes out of the can and include all the juice.
• Add carrot coins, cauliflower cut into bite-sized pieces, diced celery and diced onion.
• Season with herbs, spices, salt and pepper.
• Cook low and slow for two hours or four hours on low in crock pot.
• Add peeled, cubed turnip in the last hour.
• Add frozen peas or canned white beans. Rinse beans before adding. Add peas in the last 30 minutes. You can add the beans anytime.
• Make sure kale is ripped into bite-sized pieces. If using Tuscan kale, remove the rib.
• Add kale in last hour also.
• Add in red chili flakes if you want to add heat. You can add a dash or up to a teaspoon.
• Serve with grated parmesan cheese or pecorino. If you use pecorino, consider its saltiness before adding more salt.

Notes

Regarding vegetables. You can delete something you don’t have or like and add in other veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, or green beans. Make sure everything is bite-sized.

The post Recipe for Homemade Vegetable Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Osso Buco is Italian for bone with a hole. The bone marrow is cross cut and is typically made with veal. Originating in Milan and the Lombardy Region of Italy, osso buco showcases their culinary genius, transforming modest cuts of meat into long-standing recipes.

In its earliest version, osso buco was made with butter, onion, white wine and broth, using very typical ingredients found in many northern Italian dishes. Tomatoes are now part of a more modern recipe, and I think adds to its heartiness.

What is Osso Buco?

Basically ossobuco is a meat shank (usually veal) which used to be a very inexpensive cut with the bone marrow cut crosswise (thus, bone with a hole).

Osso buco requires a long braise in a tomato broth with vegetables. In this recipe, I served it with creamy white beans (it was New Year’s Day), but it’s most often served with risotto ala Milanese and topped with gremolata to cut through the richness.

Eat the Marrow

The marrow is considered a delicacy and is especially good with bread or eaten on a spoon. I recommend crusty bread like my sourdough to enjoy every bit of the sauce and marrow.

Why This Dish is Represents Italian Values

• Italians are known to take modest, humble cuts of meat to create spectacular gourmet recipes. Peasant food achieves elevation and Osso buco is now a proudly recognized Italian National Dish.
• Italians are known to respect the whole animal, wasting nothing, even bone marrow.
• Italians not only embrace slow food, Italians embrace eating ingredients which can be locally sourced, which is why the menu changes often radically in each region of Italy.

The History

The first mention of osso buco found its way in cookbooks in the mid to late 1800’s, particularly Pellegrino Artusi (1891) which helped it become a national Italian dish.

What Kind of Meat is Used in Osso Buco?

Veal is most often used, but other choices could include beef or pork shanks. This time, I served with cannellini beans, put in the pot at the last twenty minutes.

Top with Gremolata

Gremolata is a mixture of chopped parsley, garlic, lemon zest and salt. It brightens up the dish and cuts through the richness.

Other Hearty Italian Dishes You May Like

• What is Bolognese? Answers to all your questions.
• Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers
• Italian Meatball Soup
• Braciole – Italian Rolled Steak
• Beef Stock and Roasted Bones
• Beef and Veal Stew Shepherds Pie

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Osso Buco

Osso Buco, the quintessential veal dish from the Lombardy region of Northern Italy.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup onion
• 2/3 cup carrot finely chopped
• 2/3 cup celery finely chopped
• 4 T butter
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 4 veal shanks
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup meat broth
• 1 large can San Marzano tomatoes coarsely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• several sprigs fresh thyme
• several sprigs parsley
• freshly ground pepper
• sea salt

Gremolata

• 1 handful parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon garlic clove
• sea salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, for two to three hours of braising
• Pat Veal shanks dry. Season with salt and pepper. Coat veal in flour, and when pan is hot, brown veal on both sides in separate frying pan.
• Choose heavy pot (dutch oven with lid) to cook vegetables, which can be put in oven.
• Heat butter in dutch oven. Saute onion, carrot, lemon zest, celery on medium heat, 8-10 minutes. Then add garlic and cook a few more minutes.
• Once vegetables are done, stir in white wine and cup of broth. Cook on low for ten minutes to cook off alcohol.
• Add in tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. You want the veal to be covered 2/3 in broth.
• Add in veal shanks. Cover and braise for 2-3 hours, until fork tender.
• Serve with a garnish of gremolata.

Gremolata

• Chop together, parsley, garlic, lemon zest and add in sea salt.

The post Osso Buco Recipe with White Beans appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you want to skip the potatoes and go for a lower-carb version you can check out my paleo beef stew here which uses turnips instead of potatoes.

This old fashioned beef stew has all the great feels of a meat and potato dish. It’s different from my Irish Stew which is very brothy, as it’s nestled in a nice brown gravy.

Good Stew Meat is Important

I did this recipe with two different stew meats. The first time I made it, I used the chuck roast stew meat from Whole Foods, and it was so gristly and fatty. The second time I used lean stew meat from a local butcher who sells at the Nolensville Farmer’s Market and it was outstanding. Whatever meat you decide to use, please trim most of the fat and all of the gristle.

Important: Brown the meat first. This is always important to seal the meat and to enhance the flavor.

Vegetables

Vegetables – There will be two kinds of chopped vegetables.

• Course Chop -Carrots, Onion, Celery to aid flavor while meat is braising.
• Finer Dice – Carrots, Onion, Celery to add to the stew in the last 30 minutes
• Potatoes will have a large dice (or whatever you desire) I used a good amount of potatoes because this was lunch for mountain bikers, riding 50 miles a day for practice.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew – Gluten Free

Old Fashioned Beef Stew is nestled in a rich brown gravy, which requires a thickening agent.

Gluten Free Thickening Agents

• Tapioca flour used in browning beef cubes.
• xanthan gum gel (recipe here) (There is very small amount of actual xanthan gum used, but it works well).

Beef Broth

I use organic beef broth and a cup of passata (a bottled tomato puree), and a cup of white wine. You could also use red wine or even a cup of beer. If you want to skip the alcohol, that’s okay too.

This is a perfect broth to turn into gravy. If you’re unfamiliar with passata, look for skinny bottles of passata where the cans of tomatoes are.

Timing for Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Give yourself a three hour window. Thirty minutes to put it all together and 2 1/2 hours for braising. Final fine dice of vegetables and potatoes will go in at the last 30-40 minutes to avoid mushy potatoes.

More Similar Recipes You Might Like

• Irish Stew
• Beef Vegetable Soup (Paleo)
• Beef and Veal Shepherd’s Pie
• Veal Stew with Onion Sauce
• Beef Stock
• Short Ribs in Wine
• Beef Ragu

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Gluten Free Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Old Fashioned Beef Stew, Gluten Free, the all in one meat and potatoes dish.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean beef cubes
• 4 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 4 carrots divided
• 2 celery stick divided
• 1 onion divided
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 large cans San Marzano Tomatoes
• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 teaspoon umami seasoning or worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup white wine optional
• 6 medium sized golden potatoes peeled, large cube
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 handfuls parsley divided
• fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons xanthan gum gel see notes

Instructions

• Cut vegetables. First prepare the large chop to go into broth with the meat in initial braising to be removed later.

  Second: Cut celery and carrots into bite sized dice. Set aside. Peel and cut potatoes into large dice for stew in final stages. Put potatoes in cold water, until needed. These steps can be a day in advance.
• Dry meat with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge in tapioca flour. You don't need to use too much.
• Brown meat in large dutch oven or frying pan.
• Remove meat, set aside on a plate.
• Deglaze pan by adding in 1/2 cup of white wine. You can use a red wine if you choose. This is optional or if you don't have any wine add a cup of beer. Add one cup beef broth.
• Cook down for about ten minutes, cooking off alcohol.
• Add beef back in. Add in handful parsley, reserving some for garnish, bay leaves, fresh thyme.
• Add remaining beef broth and umami seasoning (or worcestershire sauce).
• Add in the rough cut vegetables (onion, celery, carrot).
• Cook on top of the stove on very low simmer for 2 1/2 to three hours, stirring frequently. Add extra beef broth or water a little at a time, if needed. Broth should cover the beef.

  Crockpot: Cook on high for 4 hours. Add in potatoes and final vegetables in last hour.
• In last 30-40 minutes, add in small dice of remaining celery, carrot and potato.
• Add a cup of frozen peas at last 30 minutes.
• Season again with salt and pepper, fresh chopped parsley. Taste first.
• In last ten minutes, add in the xanthan gum gel and stir to make sure it gets incorporated. This will thicken the stew.
• Do a final tasting for salt and pepper seasoning.

Notes

xanthan gel:  

The post Old Fashioned Beef Stew (Gluten Free) appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

We absolutely love bolognese, an Italian meat sauce that is cooked very slow on low heat for several hours.

Served with tagliatelle or paparadelle, (wide flat egg noodles), it is the comfort food of all comfort foods. In our house, it disappears fast, and this particular pot of bolognese got rave reviews from the twins who ate bolognese all over Italy. My Homemade Pasta recipe is here.

This is almost the same recipe as this authentic bolognese recipe from Marcella Hazan. It’s still begins with carrots, onion and celery, but we really caramelize the soffrito in this recipe. It still contains milk and white wine, (not red), but everything is added in a different order.

Pancetta is an important ingredient. It isn’t something I can always easily find in my area, and I decided to add my own twist by adding peppered uncured salami from Boar’s Head. This might seem odd, but once chopped very find, and fried, it nearly disappears into the sauce, but not without leaving an added layer of flavor. Did I lose you? I hope not.

Another thing I added to this was chicken stock. You could also use beef stock. The stock helps to thin the bolognese out when it gets too thick, keeping in mind that it has a small amount of tomato sauce and can dry out.

Bolognese can be used for other recipes such as lasagna, crepes, polenta or risotto.

What is Bolognese?

Bolognese is a meat sauce, simmered for hours, made with, soffritto, ground meat, milk, wine and and little bit of tomato. My new recipe adds chicken broth. Additionally you can add pancetta and a dash of nutmeg.

What Kind of Pot Should I Cook Bolognese?

A heavy pot that retains heat, like an enameled cast iron. My favorite is this pot from Le Creuset.

What Meat Should I Use for Bolognese?

You have options here. The best cut of beef is ground chuck, but you can certainly mix ground pork and beef or veal and beef. If you use pork, use 2 parts beef, 1 part pork and make it a fatty pork. All of these combinations work. I would not use ground turkey or ground chicken.

How Long Should I Cook Bolognese?

Cook bolognese on the lowest heat for a long time, no less than 3 hours, making sure it does not dry out. You can use broth or a little water as needed.

Can You Make Bolognese in a Slow Cooker?

Yes, but first you must cook the ingredients on top of the stove. Once you are at the final step and ready to simmer for hours, you can transport your bolognese to a slow cooker. Cook on very low for as long as 6-8 hours if you have the time.

Do You Need to Use Wine in Bolognese?

Wine is one of the main components to push flavor in bolognese. Keep in mind that the alcohol will burn off. If you want to skip the wine, add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the sauce, once you are ready to simmer, and replace the amount of liquid with more broth. Use white wine not red wine which brings a brightness to the dish.

Is Milk Necessary in Bolognese?

Milk is one of the main ingredients of bolognese as it breaks down the connective tissues of the ground beef and acts as a tenderizer. If you do skip, use a very fatty ground beef, or a combination of beef and veal. If you are using veal, use less milk.

Can I Make Bolognese without Tomatoes?

Yes, it’s actually called White Bolognese. We had white bolognese in Montepulciano. The recipe will include the soffritto (carrots, onion, celery) white wine, chicken stock, butter and heavy cream. I plan on making a recipe soon.

What Pasta Goes Best with Bolognese?

The typical pasta for bolognese is tagliatelle, or paparadelle. Make sure you use a bronze cut pasta if store-bought. You can also use a rigatoni macaroni.

What Wine Pairs well with Bolognese?

Although, I use only white wine in the sauce, we drink red wine with the meal. We like a good rich red like Chianti Classico or Sangiovese. Cabernet works well too.

Should Cheese Be Added?

There are no shoulds when it comes to grated cheese, except that either pecorino romano or parmesan should be freshly grated at the table. We like Pecorino best; it’s tangy and salty.

Can You Freeze Bolognese?

Yes, so make a double batch and freeze up to three months.

Is Bolognese Really Italian?

Bolognese comes from Bologna and is served throughout Italy. We ate bolognese in Rome, Lucca and White Bolognese in Montepulciano.

What’s the Difference between Bolognese and Ragu?

Some will say no difference. I differentiate ragu from bolognese in my recipes from the time it takes to cook. For example, my sausage ragû is a meat sauce that I make quickly.

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Variations on Bolognese

• Peach and Pork Bolognese
• Spaghetti Bolognese with Pork
• Italinan Sloppy Joe’s Bolognese
• Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese

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New Red Bolognese Recipe

Bolognese Recipe with All Your Bolognese Questions Answered

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Bolognese

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons butter plus 2 T for tossing pasta
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 2 pounds ground beef chuck mixed with salt and pepper before cooking
• 8 ounces pancetta See notes
• black pepper freshly ground
• salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
• 2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes with juice chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock more as needed
• freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table

Instructions

• On medium heat, add oil, butter, onion, until translucent.
• Add celery, carrots and cook on low until all is caramelized. This will add a lot of flavor. Once cooked, remove to a bowl. Set aside.
• In the pot you will be making the bolognese, cook meat. Sautè chopped pancetta or peppered salami. Salt meat. Add ground meat and satue Sautè meat separately until cooked completely.
• Add milk until cooked through on low about 10 minutes.
• Add nutmeg.
• Add the vegetables and mix through.
• Add the white wine and cook for about 10 minutes until alcohol is cooked off.
• Add the tomatoes, crushed with your hands.
• Add chicken stock. Cook on low for 3 hours and add more stock as necessary.
  

Notes

This recipe is a double batch, which I recommend, as you will eat it all. You can freeze, or make other dishes with it, such as bolognese sliders.

I sometimes substitute Boar’s Head peppered salami (about 4 ounces) instead of pancetta. 

The post What is Bolognese? All Your Questions Answered and a New Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I am super excited about this recipe for uncomplicated beef bourguignon.

Almost giddy. I’ve been wanting to make beef bourguignon for ever. The ingredients didn’t intimidate me, but the instructions sure did. There were too many pans and too many unnecessary steps, which is so very much like the French.  Beef Bourguignon started out as peasant fare originating in the Burgundy region using Charolais bulls.

It was elevated by Escoffier to haute cuisine as he used a whole piece of beef. It was Julia Child who chose to used beef cubes.  This reminds me of this Italian Beef in Red Wine I made some years back using the whole piece of meat.  Both recipes are amazing.

After Italian food, french food is my favorite and there are so overlaps in the cuisine. Italians seems to know how to cook with less ingredients and the recipes are usually more approachable.

Sometimes the French don’t know how to streamline and I’m thinking maybe all these steps were ways for the chef to boss his crew around or simply elevate peasant food as mentioned above.

Since I am Italian, I’m not about to compromise on taste or quality so even though this recipe saves many steps (and I won’t even go into them here), the result of this wine braised beef is amazing and should be your very next dish for company.

You Can Do the Prep in Advance

So much of the prep can be done in advance and honestly there’s about 30 minutes  of active cook time. The dutch oven does all the work, as well as a fine bottle of wine that takes plain old beef cubes to the next level and above.

I took some license with the flour that typically goes into a stew and used tapioca starch, also known as tapioca flour to keep this grain free, gluten free.

Let me take you through the ingredients and I ask you not to scrimp or make substitutions. If you do I cannot guarantee your beef bourguignon will be exquisite.

The French spelling is bœuf à la Bourguignonne. We can say Beef Burgundy in English. It’s basically beef stew braised in red wine and we refer always to Julia Child who made this dish famous. In fact all the recipes on line are versions of her dish.

This recipe has the same ingredients, while using some shortcuts that we believe make no difference to the gist and flavor of the dish.

What are the Ingredients for Beef Bourguignon?

• Beef Cubes
• Red Wine
• Bacon
• Tomato Paste
• Mushrooms
• Pearl Onions
• Carrots
• Garlic Cloves
• Beef Broth
• Flour or Tapioca Flour

Crock Pot or Dutch Oven

You can begin this recipe in a large pot and then transfer to a slow cooker. I prefer to make this in a dutch oven and put it into the oven on low for about 3 hours. Either way, it will be delicious.

My Favorites

• Slow Cooker
• Dutch Oven (This is the one I use every day. It’s Le Creuset and yes it’s worth the price).

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Beef Bourguignon

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon cut into lardons 1 inch cubes
• 3 pounds Stew Meat 2 inch pieces
• salt
• pepper
• 1 large white onion small diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced or thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons flour I used tapioca flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bottle dry red wine like a pinot noir
• 2 cups beef stock see notes
• 1 carrot cut into 2 inch pieces added in beginning
• 2 carrots cut into discs added later towards end
• 1 package pearl onions frozen
• Herbs parsley, thyme, 2 bayleaf which are removed later
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package white or brown mushrooms quartered (more if you love mushrooms)

Instructions

• Brown bacon to crisp. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels.
• Dry meat with paper towels
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Flour the meat and brown in the bacon grease. Remove to a bowl.
• Using same pan or dutch oven, soften onion and add carrots.
• Add garlic and sauté briefly.
• Put beef cubes and bacon back into a dutch oven or crock pot.
• Add wine and tomato paste, pearl onions.
• Add enough beef stock to cover the meat.
• Cook in dutch oven for three hours.
• You can do this on top of stove, but I prefer to place dutch oven in a 325 degree oven.
• OR, you can put in a crock pot on high for 3 to 4 hours.
• One hour before serving, add the carrot discs. (remove the carrot that is in there).
• Remove the carrots pieces in the stew along with the bay leaf and other herbs.
• Thirty minutes before serving sauté mushrooms in olive oil.
• You can cook the carrots separately and add at the end if you desire.
• Add in cooked mushrooms.
• Cook until carrots are done.
• Top with fresh chopped parsley.
• Serve over mashed potatoes or creamy polenta.

Notes

I replace wheat flour with tapioca flour to make this recipe gluten free, paleo and lower carb. There is no taste difference.

The post Uncomplicated Beef Bourguignon, Paleo, Keto Friendly appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Last year we went to an Irish cooking class. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much, but thought it would be a fun social event. This class surprised me. It was delicious, comforting, and exceeded our expectations. On a side note, I’m only 3/4 Italian heritage; the rest is a mix of Scotch, Irish, English, and it was fun embracing this cuisine.

The menu included Irish Stew, Colcannon, Shamrock Salad and a delicious Irish soda bread. I’ll share the recipe for the Irish stew and the Irish soda bread. This makes a great snow day meal, and that’s exactly what we did last week.

Irish Stew – What is it?

So what is Irish Stew anyway? It’s a true meat and potatoes dish, but a little different from a typical beef stew. Often known as Mulligan Stew, it developed as a meat and vegetable dish sometime in the 17th or 18th century, for farmers and shepherds who would welcome a simply made, hot meal on a damp, cold day.

Irish stew is typically made with beer, and usually no thickener is used to make a more gravy-like stew. Since we are major soup and broth lovers in this house, we love it more broth-like.

The Irish also relied on cabbage, turnips, and onions, in addition to milk, cheese and beef from cows. You could replace the potatoes with turnips for a low carb stew, but cook only at last twenty to thirty minutes because they cook fast and will turn to a bitter mush.

Beef or Lamb Irish Stew

Lamb is more typical in Ireland, but beef is used more in the states. If you love the idea of a lamb stew, you have to make this Hunger Games Lamb Stew I made years ago.

Or go ahead and use lamb for this recipe. Many people don’t give lamb a fighting chance, and a leg of lamb can be very tasty and affordable (Costco has a good price).

Beer for Irish Stew

The typical beer for the best Irish Stew is Guinness. I was snowed in and used what this beer I found in the fridge. It worked fine. You could also sub with a cup of red wine, but this is Irish stew, so use beer if you can.

If you can’t use beer for whatever reason, substitute with more beef broth, and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce.

Process for Making the Best Irish Stew

Just like all other stew recipes, the meat should be a little marbled, seasoned with salt and pepper and browned really well before adding it to the broth. This stew doesn’t require flouring first, but if you want a thicker stew you can do that.

Once the meat is browned add garlic and cook for just a minute to bring flavor. Add in remaining vegetables (except potatoes), broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, add in the beer. Cook for 30 minutes. Add in bite-sized potatoes and cook for another 60 minutes. I keep the carrots in quite large pieces and put them in from the beginning. If you are going to substitute turnips for potatoes, add them in at the last 30 minutes of cooking or you will have mush.

Tips for Best Irish Stew

• Irish stew is typically brothy. You can thicken, but our family likes the brothiness.
• Keep carrots in large pieces so they don’t get mushy.
• Add potatoes at last 30 minutes. I prefer golden yukons.
• Make sure to brown the meat on all sides.

Finish: Taste for seasoning. Add chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Irish Soda Bread in the Oven

This recipe for soda bread is glorious. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and just a tad sweet with golden raisins. Feel free to use brown raisins, currents, or dried fruit of choice.

Traditional Vs. This Recipe for Soda Bread

• Traditional Recipe: No Butter, Egg or Sugar. Made on top of the stove. (per my Irish Cookbook)
• This Recipe: Baked on oven. Butter in recipe similar to American biscuits.
• Both recipes use flour, buttermilk and baking soda.

Tips for Irish Soda Bread

• If you don’t weigh out the flour, please spoon in your measuring cup.
• Keep ingredients cold, especially butter.
• Mix egg into the buttermilk first.
• Make your own buttermilk: add a teaspoon distilled vinegar or lemon juice, and wait about 10 minutes.
• Keep dough sticky and don’t over-mix. Treat soda bread same way you would treat American biscuits. Sticky is good.
• Cold butter (pea size) that doesn’t get smeared into the flour. Makes for fluffy inside.
• Raisins: I prefer golden raisins, but you can leave them out or replace with other dried fruit.
• Best eaten same day, and out of the oven, but can be reheated up to two days.

Don’t wait until St. Patrick’s Day to try these recipes. They are perfect for comfort and chasing away the winter blues. Please leave me a comment, letting me know if you have ever made Irish Stew, and if you have a different version, I’d love to hear about it.

More Stews from Spinach Tiger

• Hunger Games Lamb Stew
• Italian Beef Stew
• Veal Stew with Onion Sauce
• Beef Bourguinon
• Veal Stew with Turnips and Purple Potatoes

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Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread

Easy Irish Stew made with beef, carrots, potatoes with Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Course Stew

Cuisine Irish

Keyword Irish Soda Bread, Irish Stew

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6

Ingredients

IRISH STEW

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds Beef chuck stew meat
• salt, pepper
• 1 onion diced
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 16 ounce bottle Beer (Guiness or Your Choice)
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 t dried thyme
• chopped parsley for garnish
• 3 cups cubed (large) yellow yukon potatoes or russet

IRISH SODA BREAD

• 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 4 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
• 1/2 cup raisins optional

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in dutch oven you will be making stew in.
• Season cubed meat with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. You may need to work in batches so as to not steam the meat. Transfer to a plate. Meat does NOT need to be cooked through. It will cook in the stew broth,
  
• Add more oil if needed and cook onion, carrots and celery for about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add thyme.
• Add meat back.
• Add broth and beer.
  
• Cook on very low for about two hours. Add potatoes in during the last 30 minutes.
  
• Garnish with parsley. Serve.

IRISH SODA BREAD

• Mix flour with salt, sugar, baking soda.
• Add raisins if using.
• Cut in butter. Butter should be cold and pea size.
• Add buttermilk (can make with regular milk and teaspoon of white vinegar).
• Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix. It should be sticky dough. Use some extra flour to form into a round. DO NOT OVER MIX.
• Bake in cast pan or griddle at 375 degrees F. for 35-50 minutes. My oven cooked very fast. Internal temperature should be 208 degrees F.

The post Best Irish Stew, Oven Baked Soda Bread appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Made with my own roasted chicken (for an amazing texture), fresh vegetables, boxed organic broth and a little bit of heavy cream that brings it home and adds that little bit of extra gut-sticking satisfaction. You could also make your own chicken stock and I have a great recipe here with ten tips.

As I was making the filling, I kept tasting and thinking with a little more broth and a few tweaks, this could be an amazing chicken vegetable soup.

I purchased these soup crocks for my recent French onion soup recipe and we’ve used them for all kinds of things. I highly recommend them.

I swapped out the rutabagas for cauliflower which ended up being a great choice. I skipped the wine and cut back on the heavy cream. If you’re watching your carbs, you could also limit the carrots but I think a couple of carrots in a soup does make a difference.

Ingredients for Recipe for Chicken Vegetable Soup

• Chicken Breasts, Shredded
• Cauliflower
• Onions
• Celery
• Carrots
• Boxed Organic Chicken Broth
• Peas
• Herbs, Bay Leaf
• Heavy Cream (this is an option I like for a creamier soup)

More Chicken Soups from Spinach Tiger

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Chicken Vegetable Soup

Homemade chicken vegetable soup made with leeks, white wine.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword Chicken pot pie, pie crust

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

1 hour hour

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Chicken Vegetable Soup

• 4 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
• 3 carrots peeled, diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 teaspoon umami seasoning Trader Joe's (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (4 sprigs)
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream Optional for a creamier soup
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded See Recipe below

Baked Chicken Breasts on Bone (Method 1)

• 2 chicken breasts on bone with skin
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Baked Chicken Breasts

• Salt chicken breasts. Roast in oven at 400 degrees F. until chicken reaches 165 F. Don't over bake. I like the texture of baked chicken. See blog notes for more ideas. You CAN roast a whole chicken as I did.

Make Chicken Vegetable Soup

• Trim leek and wash, using only white part.
• Peel and dice celery and carrots.
• Cut cauliflower into bite sized florets.
• Melt butter and oil in dutch oven or pot of your choice.
• Add vegetables (except peas) to pan. Cook about five minutes. Add sprigs of thyme (to be removed later).
• Add fresh herbs of choice. Add bay leaf.
• Season with salt, pepper, umami seasoning (if you have it).
• Stir in chicken broth.
• Once chicken broth is warmed through about twenty minutes, add in optional heavy cream. It's okay to skip.
• Add in chicken, frozen peas.
• Season as needed with salt and pepper. Serve once peas are cooked through.

Notes

You can add in other vegetables such as green beans or broccoli florets

Umami Seasoning (I  use the one from Trader Joe’s). You can substitute with poultry seasoning, or your seasoning of choice). 

Cauliflower: You can sub with potato, rutabega.

 

 

The post Recipe for Easy Chicken Vegetable Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you are looking for the keto version, there are two ways to enjoy keto chicken pot pie, and I’ll list those at the bottom of this post.

Made with roasted white meat chicken, leeks, rutabagas, green peas, onions, carrots, celery, it has just the right balance of textures. Chicken broth, white wine, butter and heavy cream enhance the flavor.

What Kind of Chicken for Chicken Pot Pie

You have choices, depending on time and budget.

• Roast a whole chicken, use the white meat and freeze the roasted thighs with legs intact for another time.
• Poach boneless chicken breasts.
• Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken

I like to roast a whole chicken, use the white meat and eat the thighs and legs on another day. You can also just roast two chicken breasts on the bone with skin or poach boneless chicken breasts.

Ingredients for Best Chicken Pot Pie

I like leeks instead of onions, but you can use a half onion in place of a leek. I like rutabagas instead of potatoes. They are mild tasting yet hold a better structure than potatoes.

Butter, heavy cream, white wine and organic chicken broth for the sauce. Herbs like parsley and thyme are great neutral herbs. In other words they add flavor, but don’t overpower.

Flaky Pie Crust

The key to a really amazing traditional chicken pot pie is not just what’s inside. The pie crust has to be light, flaky and buttery. This pie crust has just the right amount of flour to butter ratio and will be the flakiest crust, as long as you don’t overwork it.

These are a few kitchen tools that I think are worth it and yield success.

• Kitchen Scale – If you are going to do any baking at all, invest in a food scale. We all have a tendency to overpack a cup of flour. Weighing flour and butter yields a consistent product.
• Pastry cutter – You could make your dough in a food processor, but I have found I get a better product just cutting in the butter. This way I don’t over mix the butter.
• Silicone Baking Mat for Rolling Dough – Helpful but not completely necessary.

What kind of Flour Makes the Best Flaky Pie Crust?

There are a lot of opinions about this, but I recommend buying the best all purpose flour you can buy. Some will say to add in a portion of bread flour, but I like to use a soft wheat all purpose flour. I actually use a flour from Italy, but that’s expensive and you can still get a high quality pie crust with the all purpose flour of your choice. A good pie crust really depends on getting the technique right.

Chicken Pot Pie with Store Bought Rotisserie Chicken or Pie Crust

You might be wondering how to short-cut the chicken pie recipe. You CAN use a store bought rotisserie chicken. You can even use a store bought pie crust or even top your chicken pot pie with a store bought puff pastry. I do, however, like to make everything from scratch for this recipe because it’s a very special recipe for my family. However, there may be times I buy a roasted chicken or use a puff pastry. Just know some of the roast chickens are not always high quality. If you use puff pastry, just top the pie and avoid Peppridge Farms. Publix Greenwise is a better, cleaner choice.

More Recipes

• Keto Chicken Pot Pie with Almond Flour Crust
• Keto Chicken Pot Pie with Grain Free Biscuits
• Chicken Francaise
• Spatchcock Chicken Greek Style
• Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breast
• Parmesan Mayonaisse Chicken Bake

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Chicken Pot Pie with Flaky Pie Crust

Homemade chicken pot pie made with leeks, white wine and the most tender pie crust.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword Chicken pot pie, pie crust

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

1 hour hour

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Chicken Pot Pie

• 1 recipe double pie crust see below
• 4 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
• 3 carrots peeled, diced
• 1 leeks or 1 small onion see notes
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 small rutabega peeled, diced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon umami seasoning Trader Joe's (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (4 sprigs)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth more if needed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded See Recipe below

Baked Chicken Breasts on Bone (Method 1)

• 2 chicken breasts on bone with skin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup frozen peas

Poached Boneless Chicken Breasts (Method 2:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pie Crust

• 226 grams all purpose flour more for rolling dough
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup ice water (more if needed up to 1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 2 tablespons water for egg wash

Instructions

Poached Chicken

• Boil water. Turn to simmer and add chicken. Simmer chicken in water with a little salt until chicken reaches 165 Degrees F. (10-15 minutes). Do not overcook.

Baked Chicken Breasts

• Salt chicken breasts. Roast in oven at 400 degrees F. until chicken reaches 165 F. Don't over bake. I like the texture of baked chicken. See blog notes for more ideas. You CAN roast a whole chicken as I did.

Make Pie Crust

• Mix the flour with salt.
• Add cold butter that has been cut into very small pea sized pieces and refrigerated again to make sure it's very cold.

  Don't grate the butter. It must be in pieces to turn flakey. Cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter or very slowly with food processor.
  
• Add cold water 1/4 cup at a time. Use up to 1/2 cup, no more than that. You will be able to bring the dough together. One way to bring together is to put it all in a large ziplock and smoosh together. This keeps the warmth of the hands off.
  
• Form into a two discs. Refrigerate for one hour or more. Take out about 15 minutes prior to rolling.
  

Make Chicken Pie

• Melt butter and in large frying pan or dutch oven.
• Add vegetables (except peas) to pan. Cook about five minutes. Add sprigs of thyme (to be removed later).
• Sprinkle flour over vegetables, Stir well.
• Deglaze pan with white wine about a minute.
• Stir in chicken broth. Add more if you think it's too dry.
• Once chicken broth is warmed through about twenty minutes, add in heavy cream.
• Add chicken and frozen peas to vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, umami seasoning (if you have it) and fresh thyme. (or herbs of your choice).
  
• Allow to cool, while rolling out prepared pie dough.
• Take pie dough out of fridge and let sit for 10 minutes.

Prepare Pie

• Roll out two discs, using extra flour to make sure they don't stick.
• NOTE: If you want to use a decorative cut out, cut out first and then refrigerate your rolled out pie dough and cut-out for ten minutes in fridge so it will be easy to handle. Then place the pie dough over the chicken filling first. THEN place the cut-out back in.
  
• Place first pie crust in pie pan, not forcing or stretching.
• Add cooled chicken filling. Top with remaining pie dough. Cut slits on top for steam to escape. Cut off excess around the pie. Crimp or use fork to press together.
• Egg Wash: Beat one egg with two tablespoons water. Brush over pie crust.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes at 400 degrees F. in lower third of oven.

  Cool for ten minutes before cutting.
  

Notes

Slice leeks down the center. Wash, rinse. Slice across. 

Flour for Pie Crust: 2 cups flour less 2 tablespoons. 

Butter for Pie Crust: 7 ounces or 14 tablespoons

Umami Seasoning (I  use the one from Trader Joe’s). You can substitute with poultry seasoning, or your seasoning of choice). 

Rutabega: You can sub with potato, cauliflower florets or leave out.

 

 

The post Chicken Pot Pie with Flaky Pie Crust appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Chicken and white bean soup has all the feels and flavors. Made Italian style with carrots, onion, celery, Italian parsley, garlic, white cannellini beans, the soup is finished with pecorino or parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. 

This recipe uses canned white cannellini beans, and left over chicken or rotisserie chicken and boxed broth. You can make your own chicken stock and cook beans from scratch. While that might be considered ideal, it isn’t necessary for a delicious soup. 

Are Canned Beans Okay for Chicken and White Bean Soup?

Some years ago,  I had the pleasure to interview Guiliano Hazan, son of famous Italian cookbook author, Marcella Hazan, and he explains “Italian” cuisine as a dish in which you can taste each ingredient separately and not as one flavor. No ingredient should be placed in the dish to fight with another.  I asked him if his legendary mother and he differed in anything. He told me she favors “fresh beans” and perhaps dried beans, but he will use canned beans. But they agree that flavors would end up in the same place.

I liked that culinary confidence, and if anyone knows what tastes good, it would be Giuliano Hazan who has been eating from the hands of an Italian cooking legend since birth.

If you like the bread in the picture, that’s my homemade sourdough.

Ingredients for Chicken and White Bean Soup

• Chicken
• Cannellini Beans
• Boxed Organic Chicken Broth
• Onion, Carrots, Celery
• Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Parsley
• Fresh or dried thyme, rosemary
• Bay Leaf
• Fennel powder or fennel seed or fresh fennel
• Pecorinio or Parmesan

If you don’t like fennel, skip it, but I think it adds that extra aromatic.

Play Around

• Add baby spinach to bowl when serving.
• Add chopped kale in last ten minutes.
• Add cooked rice or cooked macaroni.

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Chicken and White Bean Soup

White beans, left over chicken, boxed broth makes an easy, healthy soup.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword bean soup, beansoup, chicken soup, soup

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 10 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken, diced or shredded
• 4 cans cannellini beans
• 4-6 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 2 carrots diced
• few fresh thyme sprigs can use rosemary also
• 1 handful Italian parsley chopped
• olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed or 1 cup chopped fennel
• pinch red pepper flakes
• Pecorino or Parmesan for serving

Instructions

• Rinse beans with water. Reserve 1 can of beans to emulsify later.
• Add butter and olive oil to heavy bottomed pan.
• Add in onion, carrot, celery (and fennel if using fresh) and cook until nearly soft.
• Add in garlic, cook a minutes, but not browning.
• Add in chicken broth. Add in beans that are rinsed and drained.
• Add In spices, and shredded chicken.
• Blend reserved can of beans until pureed. Add to soup.
• Cook until carrots are soft.
• Serve with Parmesan or Pecorino cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

The post Chicken and White Bean Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Roast beef often found its way to the table on Sundays in my childhood and I’ll always crave it as soon as cold weather hits. This slow cooker chuck roast recipe is so easy that I was able to make this when I was rushing around the kitchen finishing keto bakery orders.

It was fork tender and full of flavor. I made a quick low-carb, grain free gravy at the end and enjoyed delicious keto friendly, low carb comfort food.

I had my heart set on a real pot roast sandwich made with my keto grain free rolls. Putting a pot roast recipe in a slow cooker was an easy thing to do and took a few minutes of preparation.

My rolls were in the freezer and all I needed was a fork tender pot roast.

I like a chuck roast for flavor and make more than I need, as it freezes well and you can make more meals as illustrated in this post on left over roast beef recipes.

What to Serve with Slow Cooker Chuck Roast?

Brown Gravy

You can turn the broth into a gravy with these thickeners:

• Xanthan Gum Gel (gluten free, keto option) Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of gel recipe to broth.
• Flour or Corn Starch (mix 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cold water). Make a slurry. Add to broth.

What can you do with Leftover Roast Beef?

Similar Slow Cooker Recipes

I have a lot of wonderful recommendations for your kitchen (the things I have in my own kitchen). As an affiliate, I make a small commission, but your price is not increased.

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Pot Roast in Slow Cooker

Fork Tender Pot Roast with herbs, wine Prepared in SLow Cooker

Course Entree

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword chuck roast, pot roast, slow cooker

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pound chuck roast
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt more for seasoning at end
• 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground more for seasoning at end
• 1 medium onion slivered
• 3 carrots or handful baby carrots
• 2 cups or more of beef stock
• 1 cup dry red wine optional
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce if not using wine
• 2 bay leafs
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

No Starch Gravy

• 2 cups meat broth
• 2 tablespoons xantham gum gel
• 1 tablespoon cold butter

Xanthan Gum Gel

• 2 cups cold water
• 1 tablespoon xanthan gum

Instructions

• If possible, take meat out 30 minutes in advance to bring up the temperature before browning.
• Add oil to frying pan that will fit the roast. Sautè garlic cloves just until golden. Remove garlic.
• In same frying pan, brown the roast on both sides.
• Slice the onions length-wise. Either use baby carrots or slice large pieces of carrot. Keep them in large chunks, as both will be removed at end of cooking.
• Place vegetables in bottom of the slow cooker.
• Place the meat on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker.
• Add the broth, and wine and make sure it comes up 3/4 of the way. If you are not using wine, add 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. If you will not be available to turn the meat, halfway through, add more broth or water to cover completely.
• Cook at least 6 hours on medium In slow cooker, turning the meat at least once midway.

No Starch Gravy

• Remove meat to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Reserve a cup of the juice.
• Strain the broth the meat has cooked in.
• Put the broth Into a saucepan. Heat broth on medium heat.
• Add In cold butter. Whisk rapidly until butter Is incorporated.
• Add in xanthan gum gel or flour slurry if using that, and continue to whisk until gravy is thickened.

Xanthan Gum Gel

• Put water into blender. Add xanthan gum. Blend for five minutes.

The post Slow Cooker Chuck Roast Recipe, Flourless Gravy appeared first on Spinach Tiger.