This place that used to have really interesting soups (and now sucks) had a creamy salmon and corn chowder one day-after-Valentine’s. I was suspicious of how it would interact with my massive hangover, but it was a miracle cure. (Also very tasty.)
You could also add a few sprigs of fresh thyme or a little bit (maybe 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp) of fresh thyme at the beginning. But the quality of the end result depends on using good stewing beef (I’m a proponent of boneless short rib, then chuck–Costco cuts are great for this. Don’t buy any of that crap that has a solution injected to it), the right beer, and adjusting for salt, sugar, and sour (mustard or cider vinegar) at the end (some people even use ginger snaps instead of bread for thickening–making it almost like a sauerbraten kind of thing). The recipe Superfluous Parentheses linked to is pretty much the Cook’s Illustrated version of it, and it mentions the tomato paste. They also throw two (I think) cloves of minced garlic in with the onions. I personally would not do so. Also, when it comes to the meat to onions ratio, I go anywhere from 2:1 to 3:2 meat : onion by weight.
This Swedish stew, kalops is another one of my favorites. It’s another beef stew, but flavored with allspice and cloves, plus with an extra punch from sardine brine (you can use fish sauce in its place.)
This is my recipe (I’m Binko on that forum) for authentic Hungarian goulash with homemade noodles. Make sure you use a good Hungarian sweet paprika for that dish. Since it’s so simple, so much depends on the quality of your paprika. I would not use Spanish paprika, which is usually smoked, and the smoky flavor doesn’t seem right for me in that dish.
Sausage and Kale soup
Brown breakfast sausage (I really like maple sausage for this, but I’m probably weird). Drain well and remove from pan.
Brown onion (garlic if you want it) in that pan in a thin coating of the grease.
Put onion and sausage into saucepan with chicken stock, pepper, and kale. Simmer until kale is at your desired tenderness.
Eat. Or thicken with roux and eat. Or (my favorite) stir in some cream cheese or sour cream.
Chicken stew
chicken (I like boneless/skinless breasts and thighs for this)
potatoes
turnips
carrots
onion
celeriac
chicken stock
white wine
The amount of time you cook each veggie is really a matter of preference for how tender/mushy you like your veggies to get.
30 minute minestrone:
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
1 cup cabbage, chopped
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups vegetable broth
1 14.5 oz can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can cannellini beans
2/3 cups cooked elbow macaroni
1/4 tsp black pepper
Saute the first five ingredients with oil in a large stockpot for five minutes.
Add tomatoes and vegetable broth, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 or until vegetables are tender.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for five minutes. Serve.
I like carne guisada and pasta fagioli.
I made a root vegetable stew last week. Totally made it up, and the ingredient list is skewed because I was just getting rid of onions (5!) but didn’t want to make French onion soup.
4 yellow onions
1 red onion
chopped garlic
Saute the onions with some butter, salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar. When they’ve become soft and transparent, add the garlic - I think I used 4 cloves, and saute until the onions are on the verge of caramelizing.
3 parsnips
1 celery root
4 carrots
( I was seriously just cleaning out the fridge)
Chop all of these up and add to a pot while the onions are sauteing. When onions are ready, add to the pot and pour in two bottles of beer. Add water to just barely cover the top of the pile. Salt, pepper, a few shakes of dried herbs de provence, and chili powder to taste. Simmer for about 45 minutes, then to thicken, add small amounts of potato flakes, stirring between, until desired stewy consistency. I like mine thick.
For extra-special unhealthy goodness, serve over mashed potatoes with a dollop of butter on top.