Bone Broth Vegetable Soup

It is a simple Romanian soup my grandmother used to cook, especially in winter. The soup is made with beef bone broth, vegetables, and beans, and it is usually served very hot.

In Romania, we often eat it with pickled hot peppers on the side. A big bowl of soup with beans, bacon, vegetables, and potatoes is exactly what you want on a snowy day when the temperatures drop below freezing. If you enjoy hearty soups with beans or lentils, you might also like my Cabbage and Meatball Soup or this simple Beef Bone Soup with Lentils; they can all be made with beef bone broth.

Ingredients: 13 + oil, salt & pepper | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 40 minutes | Servings: 6 | Difficulty: Easy

Recipe ingredients

Bone broth: I often make bone broth, simmering it for at least 12 hours. For more details, see my posts on making beef bone broth or turkey bone broth.

• Bone broth is very concentrated and more flavorful than other stocks or broths. However, you don't have to make it yourself. You can use a good-quality store-bought bone broth or regular beef broth. If using regular broth, taste the soup and add one or two beef bouillon cubes, if needed.

Beans: I usually make this bone broth soup with white beans, but feel free to use another type. While black beans have a distinct taste, pinto or kidney beans are great alternatives.

• Use more beef bone broth if you don't have bean cooking broth. If you have extra bean broth, use it all for the soup and adjust the amount of beef broth as needed. Cook more beans and make this Romanian white bean dip, too; it's so good!

Vegetables: The choice of veggies isn't an exact science - my grandma would use whatever she found at the market. For a genuine taste, you should include root vegetables like carrots, celery root, and red bell peppers.

You could also use zucchini in autumn or parsnips or parsley roots in winter.

• Potatoes aren't essential; my grandmother never added them, but my children enjoy them.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Vegetarian alternative

This bean and vegetable soup isn't vegetarian, but you can easily make it vegan or vegetarian.

Just leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock or the bean cooking water instead. Finish by seasoning generously to taste. Check out more of my grandma's traditional soups: Semolina Dumpling Soup, Romanian Meatball Soup, or Romanian Spinach Soup.

How to make bone broth vegetable soup? Step #1: Soak the beans overnight, cook them until soft but not mushy, drain them in a colander, but keep the cooking liquid. Step #2: Cook them until soft but not mushy, drain them in a colander, but keep the cooking liquid.

Step #3: Chop the vegetables. Step #4: Cook the bacon.

Step #5: Add the chopped vegetables and cook them for about 5 minutes. Step #6: Add the potatoes. Step #7: Add the cooking water from the beans and the beef bone broth.

Add herbs and cooked beans. Step #8: Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently until all the vegetables are soft (about 20 minutes; check the potatoes; they should be soft).

How to sour a soup? Romanian soups (ciorbe) often have a sour note.

In many regions, people use borsch, a fermented wheat liquid, but my grandmother never did. Instead, she always added a splash of vinegar, a tradition I continue.

For this soup, I used vinegar from pickled tarragon leaves. You can also use fresh or dried tarragon with white wine vinegar.

Serve and store

I always serve this kind of soup with bread, such as Spelt Bread (I bake this bread about once a week), Yogurt Soda Bread, or Flaxseed Bread.

You can make the beef bone broth and vegetable soup in advance. I actually recommend cooking it one day in advance; it will taste even better when reheated.

Let it cool, and refrigerate the covered pot. Refrigerate leftovers for 3-4 days and reheat the soup on the stovetop or microwave before serving. You can freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months, although I am not keen on freezing food containing potatoes.

However, in this case, it works fine.

Equipment

• Large soup pot or Dutch oven

Notes

• Beans: Alternatively, you can use canned beans, about 2-3 cans or 1.5 oz/ 650-700 g.
• Bean cooking broth: If you don't have any, use more beef bone broth. If you have more bean cooking broth, you can use it all for the soup and adjust the beef broth quantity accordingly.
• Broth: You can also use regular beef broth to make this soup.
• Pickled tarragon: I pickle tarragon leaves every summer, but as I assume that most of you don't do that, use dried or fresh tarragon for the soup and white wine vinegar to sour the soup. If you are using pickled tarragon, leave out the dried tarragon and add the finely chopped pickled tarragon at the end of the cooking process. Use the pickling vinegar to sour the soup. Start with one tablespoon, taste the soup, and continue adding more, a little at a time, until the soup tastes to your liking. I do like mine rather sour, so I sometimes end up adding 4 or 5 tablespoons of vinegar.