What could be better on a crisp fall day than a flavorful, hot bowl of steaming soup? Unless you’re more in the mood for baked goods, chances are, not much.
Of course, deciding to indulge in some tasty soups and stews is a no-brainer. But the problem with it is- which one do you choose?
The possibilities are literally endless, and they all range from quick and simple to slow-simmered and complex, and anywhere in between.
One Fall classic that always seems to please even the pickiest of eaters, however, is a nice, hearty hamburger and potato soup!
Just like with soup-choices themselves, this recipe is versatile enough that it can be adapted to include all your favorite veggies and flavors while remaining one of the simplest soups to throw together on a busy day.
Don’t have time to stand watch over a pot? That’s okay too. This recipe can easily be made all the more simple by tossing everything in your slow cooker and just walking away!
This recipe is inspired by Heather who contributed it to AllRecipes, and we must say that it stands up to the hype in the reviews and then some!
Here is what you will need to get started:
1 lb of ground beef
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped to preferred size
4 large carrots, chopped to preference
1 medium to large onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery (with leaves), chopped
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup of fresh spinach, packed (optional)
1 can of corn (optional)
2 Tablespoons of dried parsley
1 Tablespoon of dried basil
1 – 2 Tablespoons of beef bouillon base according to taste
Salt and pepper
Water to cover
The first thing you’ll do is chop your ingredients.
This can all be done to suit you and your family’s preferences. We like a hearty, rustic cut on all the veggies where 1/2 to 1″ thick chunks of carrot and onions burst in your mouth like oversized flavor crystals with every bite.
If you’re more a fan of the small, bite-sized pieces, you can of course chop your veggies accordingly without worry. All the tasty flavors will still be there (and it may even shave a few minutes or so off your cook time).
Step 1- everything but the burger
In a large stockpot (or the crock of your slow cooker) add the carrots, potatoes, onion, celery, garlic, beef base (bouillon), and salt and pepper to taste.
Cover all of the ingredients with water and bring to a boil. Once it begins boiling, let it cook until all of the veggies become tender, roughly 15 – 20 minutes. Be sure to test with a fork at the 10-minute mark if you chopped your veggies into smaller pieces, as they will obviously soften up more quickly.
Once your veggies are softened, briefly remove the pot from the heat and move onto the next step.
Step 2- burger with all the options
Working carefully so as not to burn your fingers, take the raw ground beef and slowly crumble it into the soup. Work in small batches, dropping in the beef crumbles just above the soup so that it doesn’t cause a big, burning splash.
Mix the burger into the soup as you go. This will ensure the raw hamburger stays crumbled and doesn’t “glue” itself back together once it’s in the pot.
After all of your beef has been crumbled and mixed into the soup, add in your spinach and your canned corn. Stir to distribute and return it to the heat.
Bring the soup back up to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow it to simmer until all of your veggies are cooked through, the spinach has wilted, and the ground beef has no pink left in it. This should only take about 15 – 20 minutes.
Note: if you are using a slow cooker to make your stew, just add in all of your ingredients except the spinach in the first step. Cook either on low for 6-8 hours or on high at 2-3 hours. About 20 to thirty minutes before you plan to eat it, add in your fresh spinach to become nice and wilted, but not overcooked.
A pinch of seasoning can make all the difference to freshen up the flavors in a ho-hum soup. Most canned soups have plenty of sodium, so skip the salt and stick with spices like cumin or curry powder or try dried herbs like basil or rosemary.
Can you boil hamburger meat? You can boil ground beef! Place the meat in a large pot and cover it with water. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula then bring the water to a boil.
So, although the flavor still feels simple and familiar, it's not boring or flat. I also prefer to make this hamburger soup recipe without beef broth or stock; I prefer to use vegetable stock to balance the flavors out a bit.
For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.
If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl.
Cornstarch is a very effective thickener, and a little bit can go a long way. Add cornstarch to a small amount of cold water or other liquid (wine or stock) and whisk into a thick slurry.
Cornstarch is not the only thickening agent you can use. Other alternatives include flour, arrowroot powder, instant mashed potatoes, or even pureed vegetables like cauliflower or cooked oats. Each of these options will add thickness to your soup while imparting its own unique taste and texture.
Do you drain hamburger meat for soup? If your ground beef has a more fat than 90% lean beef, you will need to drain off the fat. For example, if you use 85% lean or 80% lean ground beef you will want to drain the fat after cooking the meat.
"While every step of the process is important, the one that will affect your final flavor the most is how well you brown your meat before placing it in the liquid it's to be cooked in," says Stockton.
Water. This simple swap should suffice in most recipes that call for broth. To give H2O more depth, you may want to compensate by adding more spices like salt, pepper and bay leaves to your recipe and a tablespoon or two of olive oil to mimic the richness of broth.
Like beef broth, chicken broth is a kitchen staple and makes a good substitute if you are all out of the meaty broth. This savory, salty liquid has a milder flavor than beef broth but is a good one-to-one replacement. Chicken broth also has a similar nutrition profile to beef broth, low in calories and high in sodium.
The simple answer is yes, it's usually okay to substitute vegetable stock with water. In most recipes that call for vegetable stock, its main advantage over water is that it provides flavor, which is especially important if you're making vegetarian or vegan food that's missing the richness from meat.
You can extract a clean, strong broth from a combination of water and several pantry ingredients. It's all about layering powerful flavor-enhancers that you probably already have on hand—bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parmesan rind, and, of course, kosher salt.
A soup's quality is determined by its flavor, appearance and texture. A good soup should be full-flavored, with no off or sour tastes. Flavors from each of the soup's ingre- dients should blend and complement, with no one flavor overpowering another.
A squeeze of citrus, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, a dusting of cheese or a good chile powder, a sprinkling of some herbs or croutons — all can take a perfectly fine soup into the realm of the delectable. Even a spiral of good olive oil to finish and some coarse sea salt can do wonders.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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