Cooking: Quick Hungarian Beef & Potato Soup

Since fall is definitely in the air, I decided to make a quick soup one weeknight for dinner. This recipe is based on one from Food & Wine magazine. I kicked up the spices a notch.  The soup was really quick and easy to make thanks to using ground beef instead of regular beef.

The caraway seeds, paprika, red pepper, and marjoram melded into a flavorful hearty soup. It was great served with a nice loaf of crusty bread to soak up the broth.

I will be making this soup again really soon, it was simle to make and the end result was flavorful and made a satisfying meal on its own (no need for a 2nd course!).

 

Quick Hungarian Beef and Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
3 large Russet (or other boiling) potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 1/4 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups canned low sodium beef broth or homemade stock
3 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. Set a large pot over moderate heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break it up, until the meat no longer pink, about 2 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir inthe flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3. Add the potatoes, paprika, ground red pepper, marjoram, caraway seeds, salt, tomato paste, broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.