Beef Pot Pie Soup

Wednesday 21 October 2020


I had found a rolled brisket in the oven at the weekend. I am trying to use up what I can from the freezer. I think our local food bank will be getting a healthy donation from our food cupboard in any case. 

I just did my normal pot roast.  With the leftovers I decided to make a delicious homemade soup. My son had shown me his Turkey Pot Pie Soup on Sunday and so I thought to myself why not a Beef Pot Pie Soup??

Beef Pot Pie Soup

 

Why  not indeed. Usually when I have leftover roast beef I will use it for a nice hash or a pot pie. Mom's Beef Pot Pie is a real favourite! 

Some other favourites are Monday Night Supper Dish (an old fashioned pasta dish), Old Fashioned Baked Hash,  and Greek Casserole.  Other favourites are Oven Hash, Macaroni Roma, and Beef Miroton.  And those are not all my options by any stretch.

 
My mother always said I was the Queen of the leftovers and that I could make the sole of a boot taste good.  I say I learned it from my mother. 

In her kitchen NOTHING went to waste.  Absolutly nothing.  She made mostly soups and pot pies from her leftovers, and I have to say she was a master at making soup out of just about anything and everything. 

Beef Pot Pie Soup

Mom was born at the beginning of the Great Depression. She grew up poor.  Her grandfather was a farmer so they always had food, but a lot of other things were not so abundant.

He passed away in 1938 and her grandmother, who had been a midwife moved in with my mother's mom and dad. Food was much harder to come by then, and every scrap got used. Thrift was the order of the day.

Beef Pot Pie Soup

Sometimes those of us who have grown up in the time of plenty can be a bit wasteful, and I have been guilty of it on occasion.  By and large however I try to always use up whatever I can.

I do have a four day rule however. If I haven't used it in four days and I can't free it, unfortunately it goes out.  Thankfully that doesn't happen very often.

Beef Pot Pie Soup

 Stale bread, cakes and cookies can always be used to make fresh desserts.  But when they are not good for even that, the birds end up with them.  I do not give them mouldy bread however. I am always careful about that.

Flimsy near the best by date vegetables always make for a great stock or soup.

Beef Pot Pie Soup

 Today I channelled my mother and I made a pot of beef and vegetable soup with the leftover roast. You could use ground beef in a pinch if you don't have any leftover roast.  

Making soup is such a simple thing to do. I always start with a mirepoix of vegetables. Onion, carrot, celery.  All get chopped and sauteed until soft in a bit of oil.

Beef Pot Pie Soup

 These vegetables are the basis of any good soup and stock.  They are filled with flavour. From there you can easily move ahead.

I added the beef and some garlic to them softened vegetables. I raised the heat a bit and allowed everything to brown just a tiny bit.  Caramelisation always adds tons of flavour to things. Colour too.


From there I added some stock, and water. I always keep a variety of stock pots in my cupboard. If you have stock pots in your cupboard, or boullion cubes you are never far away from a good soup.

Better still if you have frozen stock in the freezer. That only happens very seldomly in this house, although I most always have a chicken carcass or two to make chicken soup with.  And what is chicken soup but a nice pot of stock with a few bits thrown in!

Beef Pot Pie Soup

If you have any leftover meat juices (and I did) you can also add them now.  I used a tasty mix of herbs for flavour as well.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Just like the song Scarborough Fair.  They go very well together and they went well in this. 

Beef Pot Pie Soup

I also added a broken bay leaf.  Did you know that if you break your bay leaves in half when you are adding them to things they will release more flavour?  Its true. Now you do know.

I seasoned it simply with salt and pepper. Other vegetables I added were chopped potato, chopped rutabaga (swede)  and some chopped cabbage.

Beef Pot Pie Soup

 I added a bit of tomato paste as well, which added a slight hint of richness. Sometimes I will add a tin of chopped tomatoes. Today I did not.

This all gets simmered together for about 35 to 40 minutes until everything is nice and tender.  Then at the very end I will throw in some frozen peas. Waiting til the end helps to preserve their colour somewhat.

Beef Pot Pie Soup

 I am in noways fond of over-cooked peas. Not. At. All.  So they only need to cook for about minutes and I am happy.

The pot pie topping is baked puff pastry rounds.  I use all-butter puff pastry if I can get it.  Its the best. I just cut them into rounds with a fluted cutter, brush with an egg wash, sprinkle with some seasoning, (today it was everything Bagel seasoning) and bake until golden brown and puffed.


Crisp and light as air.  Ready to pop on top of your hot soup after it has been ladeled into heated bowls. Today I used my favourite big cup and saucer. I thought it looked really nice.

If you wanted to you could use ordinary flakey pastry. Heck, even hot buttered crisp toast rounds would work.  Just so you have something nice and crisp and tasty sitting on top.  Leftovers never tasted so good!

Beef Pot Pie Soup
Print

Beef Pot Pie Soup

Yield: 4
Author: Marie Rayner
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 40 Mintotal time: 50 Min
A hearty beef soup created from leftover roast beef. Topped with a puff pastry round it makes for a very delicious meal on a cold autumn day.

Ingredients

For the soup:
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 stick celery, peeled and chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 cups chopped leftover roast beef along with any juices
  • 2  medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small piece of rutabaga, peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 cabbage leaves, finely chopped
  • 4 cups (960 ml) hot beef stock
  • 2 TBS tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) water
  • 1 broken bay leaf
  • 1 tsp parsley flakes
  • 1/4 tsp each sage, rosemary and thyme
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup of frozen peas
For the topping:
  • 1 sheet of all butter puff pastry
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
  • Everything Bagel Seasoning

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery.  Cook slowly over medium low heat stirring frequently until softened.
  2. Turn up the heat to medium high. Add the garlic and beef. Cook for a few minute minutes until the beef begins to brown a bit at the edges.  Add the beef stock,  water, potato, cabbage, rutabaga, tomato paste and any seasonings.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until all the vegetables are tender.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required.  Add the frozen peas.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Unroll the puff pastry. Cut into shapes and place them onto the baking sheet.  Brush lightly  with the egg and sprinkle with the bagel seasoning.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes in the hot oven until golden brown and nicely puffed.
  5. Ladle the soup into heated bowls.  Top each serving with a round of puff pastry and serve immediately.
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Beef Pot Pie Soup

What is your favourite thing to do with your leftovers from a roast dinner? Usually I will make a hash or a pot pie. I had not made soup in quite a while. It made for a lovely change! 

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13 comments

  1. I am immensely frustrated by Blogger which is only showing the four most recent posts. I have obviously missed a very important post from you, announcing a house move of some sort, but I cannot go any further back to read about it. I hope that all is well for you and that any move you make will be a happy one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sorry about that Karen. I am not sure what the problem is. My marriage is breaking up. It is a sad thing, but the best thing all round. I will be moving back to Canada as soon as I can get everything sorted. Never ever thought this would happen, but it is what it is. I will survive! xoxo

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    2. Oh I am so sorry to hear that. However I do hope reuniting with the rest of your family to ease the pain of what must be a very sad time for you.

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    3. Stuff just happens Karen. Thank you very much. xo

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  2. Thank you very much Laurie. xoxo

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  3. This sounds delicious - hearty, warming, comforting and nourishing just as a good winter soup should be. I can almost smell it cooking. I really like your idea with the puff pastry toppers - very clever and a nice touch.

    My gran always tore her bay leaves, so I do as well. When I lived in Adelaide, I actually had a beautiful laurel tree in my garden. so I was spoiled with fresh bay leaves. I have to buy them these days, but I don't mind as they do add a depth to soups and stews.

    With leftover roasts I like to make a pot pie, or something they call Pytt i panna over here (cubed leftovers fried up and served with a fried egg and beetroot. I also love a delicious sandwich made with left over roasts. I used to love my Monday morning packed lunch at school as it was always made with the leftover meat from the Sunday Roast.

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    Replies
    1. Pytt sounds a bit like a hash! I sounds delicious. I think shredded pot roast with some mustard and cheese makes a great grilld sandwich! I love them! I have a bay laurel tree in the back and have dried leaves from it for a couple of years now. I do hope I will be able to take some of my herbs over to Canada with me. I worked so hard on organising them! xoxo

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks Monique. Something like this can lift a soup from being ordinary into extraordinary! xoxo

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  5. What a lovely meal on a drizzly, raw day. And I agree with Monique, it's cute as a button in your oversize cup and saucer. My mom would grind up leftover roast beef, add mayo, pickle and onion and make sandwixhes. They were so good. Hugs, Elaine

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    Replies
    1. Your mom's sandwiches sound very good Elaine! I can almost taste them! xoxo

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