QUING Parties at the Palace with UNCLE JOHNNY SOUP

There are hundreds of recipes for Beef Soup. But there is only one recipe for Uncle Johnny Soup, because there is only one Uncle Johnny. He is the patriarch of my big Italian family. The man who babysat us, cooked for us, and shouldered all the blame when we were insisting to our parents, “we didn’t do it!”  Uncle John is 97 years old. He has always been a man of few words and immeasurable action. He taught us to love our faith, family, heritage, the ballet, and Puccini.  He also taught us to love the wholesome, simple cooking that he learned from his mama. Years ago, I called him, from many miles away, to ask for the recipe for Uncle Johnny Soup. Here is what he said (after, "Good afternoon, Zi Zi!):

Buy a beef shank and some bones. Rinse them and put them in a pot.  Fill the pan 3/4 full with water. Boil and skim. Add celery, ½ can chopped tomato, salt, pepper, parsley, a little bit of oregano, onion and carrots.  Later on.  Cook all afternoon. Add Acini de pepe. Add some cheese. I serve it with oil bread and a salad."

There you have it. The actual recipe I use for Uncle Johnny Soup. If you are a maker of soup, you understand just how simple this is to make. If you are not a maker of soup - and would like to be - start with this recipe, because once you taste this soup you will actually wake up many a day in the future and think to yourself, “Today’s a day for Uncle Johnny Soup!”  Below, you’ll find my translation of Uncle John’s Recipe. After you make it the first time, however, use Uncle Johnny’s recipe, instead of mine. It has very little prose. It's authentic. And near perfect. Just like Uncle Johnny.  GUSTARE!

UNCLE JOHNNY SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

Two meaty beef shanks and one package of beef bones  (optional)

4 cups of water

2 cups of Beef Broth

2 yellow onions

1 Bay Leaf

Celery

Carrots

2 teaspoons  Kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon of parsley

8 ounces (1/2 box) of Acini De Pepe

Directions:

Rinse shanks and bones.  Place in large stock pot and add water and beef broth.  Bring to a low boil on medium high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the top.  Peel skins from whole onions and drop into broth.  Add bay leaf, tomatoes, two or three peeled and rinsed carrots, and a couple rinsed stalks of celery. Add salt, pepper, parsley and oregano.  

Reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, for 4 hours. Add water or broth if necessary and stir once or twice. In the meantime, rinse three stalks of celery and four or five peeled carrots, and cut into 1/4 - 1/2 inch chunks.  When broth is done, remove beef shanks and set them aside until cool enough to remove the meat from bones. Discard bones, saving leaner chunks of meat for soup. Using a colander, carefully strain broth into a second large stock pot, discarding vegetables and seasonings.  Bring broth back to a simmer, and remove any fat on top (I use a metal measuring cup or ladle to do this.) Add meat chunks, chopped carrots and celery to broth.  Simmer for 1/2 hour.  Taste for seasonings, and add salt, pepper and a dash of oregano to your liking. Add Acini De Pepe and cook, stirring occasionally for an additional 10-12 minutes.  Serve with grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese.