Beef and chervil soup with pasta

This is a very pleasant and nutritious soup for when you are trying to lose weight after spending some nice holidays. I found some interesting beef shank at the supermarket – my butcher’s is closed for a few weeks – and started by making a beef broth. The next day I removed the (little) fat from the stock and added vegetables, chervil and pasta. The chervil gives it a nice anise-like flavour.

For the broth

Ingredients

• Two beef shanks
• Three litre water
• A leek, two carrots, one onion
• Some herbs like thyme, rosemary, bay leave (or kaffir lime leave)

Steps

1. Put the beef with the bone in the water, heat gently
2. Cut-up the vegetables and add to the pan
3. Add the herbs
4. Cook for one to two hours, you want the water to boil to extract the juices from the beef.
5. Let in stand to cool.
6. Pass it through a sieve and set the meat aside.
7. The next day, skim off the fat.
8. Slice the beef in cubes.

For the soup
Ingredients

• 200 grammes of green peas
• One half of leek white
• A bunch of chervil
• 150 grammes of small pasta type macaroni
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Steps

1. Reheat the stock and add the beef and pasta, cook for 10 minutes.
2. Slice the leek and take the peas from the pods, add and cook for another 15 minutes.
3. Chop the chervil. You can add the bunch of stems with the pasta and remove it shortly before serving. Then you add the chopped chervil and stir. Taste and serve.