My mother started making this soup shortly after she got married and it came from a family friend who lived around the corner. On Fridays he had an open house policy and neighbourhood children were welcome to join for a singalong around the bonfire, on condition they each brought a cheese sandwich. After a few songs he would bring out his collection of jaffle irons and the children would toast their sandwiches. Walking through his kitchen in wintertime, a sandwich in her pocket, my mother remembers the smell of this soup cooking on the stove – and it turns out the recipe came from his mother. Â
She has made it her own in so many ways and now it’s really more of a timeline than a recipe. It starts when a bunch of soup celery catches your eye, perhaps because it is such a deep green or the leaves look so fresh. Maybe the weather turns, or you think: ah, it’s Downday-soup season. And then you set aside three hours on a Saturday afternoon, to potter as it simmers but remaining present throughout to salt, taste, and salt to taste. It relies on having a six-litre pot to use as the guide for quantities, and making sure there will be someone around in the final hour to share the marrow bones with you.
One day ahead (at least)
Find a fresh bunch (140g) of soup celery, wash and freeze it – it’s easier to chop when frozen, especially with a serrated knife.
On the day of making the soup
Start by adding one mug of 4-in-1 soup mix (dried barley, peas, and lentils) to a bowl, cover with freshly boiled water and soak for one hour.
While the soup mix is soaking, add to a six-litre soup or stock pot:
two to three beef shins
three to four beef marrow bones
400g tin tomato puree
Enough water so everything is covered
Put the pot over a medium heat so the contents can start coming to an enthusiastic simmer.
While the soup mix is soaking, prepare the veggies, adding each to the pot as they are finished:
Chop the soup celery
Finely chop two large onions
Peel and grate four to five large carrots (a larger size makes them easier to grate) on the coarse side of a box grater
Peel and grate three to four large-ish potatoes
As it starts bubbling, add:
one beef stock cube (Mutti likes stock cubes so in this instance we defer to her, otherwise it just wouldn’t be Downday soup)
After one hour
When one hour is up, drain the soup mix and add that too.
Bring back up to a strong simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring to prevent the soup mix catching on the bottom. Then replace the lid, if necessary reduce the heat so it’s at a simmer, and cook for two hours, stirring now and then, and tasting. Season with salt and keep topping up with water a little at a time so everything is well covered. You don’t want to add too much water upfront, but as the soup cooks it will thicken, so enough water needs to be added to adjust for that.
During the last 45 minutes, as the cooking is nearing the end, pay special attention to the flavour and texture of the soup. Add a bit more water or salt, depending on your taste and how thick you like your soup. Because the potato neutralises the salt, by the end of seasoning the final amount used is usually around one or two teaspoons.
After two hours
Scoop out the beef shins (they should be falling apart) and remove any gelatinous bits. Return the morsels of beef to the pot. Slip out the marrow bones and eat on buttered toast with a sprinkling of salt.
Then eat the soup.
