vegetable stew

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 liter of water
• 1 gr. jar peas with carrots, drained weight 420 g
• 1 gr. jar of asparagus, drained weight 205 g
• 10 large potatoes, approx. 1 kg
• 500 g minced meat, mixed
• 2 m.-sized onion(s)
• 100 g soup vegetables, fresh
• 1 m.-sized egg(s)
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 3 stock cubes or 3 tbsp stock powder
• 8 peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp flour
• 50 g butter
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Dice an onion. Mix the ground meat, onions, egg, and breadcrumbs in a bowl and season with pepper and salt. Form the mixture into small balls and set aside. Pour 1 liter of water into a 5-liter pot. Halve the remaining onion, slice it thinly, and add it to the pot. Dice the soup vegetables, add them along with the bay leaves, peppercorns, and stock cubes, and bring everything to a boil. Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes. When the stock is boiling, add the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, until they are al dente. Then add the meatballs and cook for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the asparagus slightly and add it to the pot with the peas and carrots. If the carrots are larger, you can chop them further beforehand. You can also pour the liquid from the jars into the soup; it’s a matter of taste. Then add all the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Take about two large ladles of stock and set it aside in a mug. For the roux, heat the butter in a pan, add the flour, and stir until it turns a light brown. Add the roux to the boiling soup and stir immediately, otherwise lumps will form. Pour the skimmed stock into the pan and stir to dissolve the rest. Keep stirring, then add it to the soup. Continue cooking the stew for another 3-5 minutes. Tip: Stew always tastes best the next day or reheated twice.