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Friday, October 25, 2019

Weather is Cooling and Time for Soups

Having allowed my website to lapse, due to many complaints (mine) and difficulties, I am using solely my blog for publishing recipes these days. Also, without all those recipes on my website available anymore, I have been trying to get them published here in my blog, so they continue to be available. 
 
Beef, Cabbage, soup, stew, main meal
Add Beef with Sweet Cabbage

What with all the website recipes not there anymore, the other problem is that I have a whole lot of places where there are links to a recipe on the website - and the website is not there any longer, and this is not good in any way, so I have been going over my blogs, starting from the very first post, correcting link errors wherever I can find them. There were and still are, lots of posts that are missing photos - only heaven knows what happens "out there" online! All I can say is that it is a very slow and tedious process, going through all my posts, updating, updating. And something else - I realize that there is a  glaring lack of certain recipes. Even when I though I had all my lists made, something else comes up. One is one of my Mom's recipes. In flavor, it was one of my favorites. However, she made it with beef short ribs, notorious for a lot of fat and bone, with a little meat that you really have to fight for. That made the recipe one I didn't try to make for a long time. Then one day I thought, "Hey, what if I used a different meat?" 

Living in Guatemala at the time, I used what I later found was brisket. I find brisket, especially when cooked in a soup, gives really great flavor. I happened on it by chance in Guatemala, as I was young and with little cooking experience, but I stuck with that meat ever since, because it turns out so delicious. Mom called the recipe "Beef with Sweet Cabbage."

Beef with Sweet Cabbage


Serves 8 - 10

1 (2 – 3 pound) brisket
Beef, Cabbage, soup, stew, sweet, sour
Beef with Sweet Cabbage

1 large onion, diced
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
¾ cup ketchup, or as needed
¼ cup of sugar
2 – 4 tablespoons vinegar
A few grinds of pepper
2 - 3 large potatoes, peeled, cut in 1-inch dice
1 small head of cabbage, in cubes

Place the brisket, onion, bay leaves and salt into a large soup pot with a tight fitting lid. Add water to just cover. Bring to a boil on high heat, then lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for at least 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat and bay leaves from the pot. Set the meat on a platter until cool enough to handle.

Slice the meat across the grain into 2 – 3-inch sections. Break the sections into smaller pieces and pull the meat apart into strips. Return the meat to the pot.

Add in the ketchup. The soup should be nicely reddish. If it is not, add more. Add in the sugar and some of the vinegar. The goal in this dish is a nice sweet/sour balance between sugar, salt and vinegar. If the dish needs more vinegar, add a little at a time. Conversely, if it needs more sugar, add more. Remember it is easier to add more, but it cannot be taken back out. Start small and build the flavor. Grind in some fresh black pepper. Add in the cabbage and potatoes, stir, bring pot back to boiling, lower to a simmer, cover and cook for at least another half hour, or until the cabbage and potatoes are very tender.

NOTE: If you can only find a large cabbage, use only half, or as much cabbage as preferred.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

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