Giardiniera Soup with Italian Beef
One of my favorite ways to come up with a soup recipe is start with a sandwich, break it down to the ingredients, and serve them in a broth instead of on a bun. Since there is a broth involved when making Italian beef sandwiches, I got the idea that it might be fun to expand the broth portion and reduce the other parts, making the whole thing into a soup. I wanted to feature the giardiniera prominently, since everything in giardiniera is common in soup, except maybe olives. I don’t know if I have had many soups with olives in them.
Anyways, I made the beef with extra broth below it, so the beef could drip in as it cooked. Then I cooked up some homemade giardiniera in a pan, added the broth, and ladled the whole thing over the perfectly tender sliced beef. Perfection in a bowl!
Most recipes will tell you to use top round for this. I used eye round cause that’s what they had. It still worked great.
Bring the homemade giardiniera to a simmer allowing it to saute in it’s own oil. Then add the broth that cooked below the beef.
ladle the soup over the beef.
Serve with bread! So tasty.
I used a lot of oil and vinegar in my giardiniera and it definitely makes for a pungent soup but it is so flavorful and delicious and exactly the warming deliciousness you look for in soup. Serve it with bread and you can scoop it up for a mini Italian sandwich!
Giardiniera Beef Soup
Ingredients
Beef and Broth
- 3-4 pound top or eye round roast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 6 cups broth
Giardinera
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower
- 1 cup chopped red pepper
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno
- 1 cup chopped olives
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup red vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
For the soup
- Bread
Instructions
- Note- I say 2 servings cause that is the soup part at the end, but there is lots of extra beef, broth, and giardiniera so you can make many more servings or make sandwiches from it
Beef and Broth
- Season the beef with all the seasonings listed until it is fully coated. Place on a rack over a roasting pan and add the broth to the pan. Allow to sit for 30 minutes until about room temp.
- Preheat oven to 225
- NOTE- bullion is most traditional but use whatever stock option you have or love.
- Cook the roast at 225 for about 3-4 hours until 135 in the center. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
- Pour the broth into a container, and wrap the beef. Store in the fridge overnight
- The next day, slice the meat as thin as you possibly can.
Giardiniera
- Mix the cauliflower, red pepper, carrot, celery, and jalapeno in a bowl. Season heavily with salt and cover with water. Allow to sit in the fridge for a day.
- The next day, strain and rinse. Add to a bowl with the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Make the soup
- Add about 1 cup of giardiniera to a frying pan on medium high heat. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in 2 cups of the broth. Bring to a simmer.
- Place about 1/2 cup of the sliced beef into two bowls.
- Split the simmering giardiniera and broth between the bowls. Top with bread and serve.