One of my pet peeves is this: I go out to eat at a “nice” restaurant, I order soup, I taste the soup, it tastes CANNED. AAAAh!!!! Am I nuts or do other people feel as annoyed as I do?

Soup is so important! I mean, anybody can throw a piece of meat on a grill and serve it with some veggies! Big deal! The other day, I was invited at a seafood place. O.K. I order lobster bisque and not only did it taste canned but it had so much cream in it, I could barely swallow it.

My point is this: A good soup takes times. The broth needs to be homemade. That’s why when I take the time to make this homey Lebanese soup, it is consumed within the hour; yet it takes me 2 days to make it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 nice lamb shanks
• 4 onions
• 1 large can of Italian tomatoes or Pomi or 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes
• 3 or 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced thick
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves
• spices for the broth: thyme, sprig of parsley, a few cloves of garlic, some cloves, some peppercorns, a bay leaf.
• 1 1/2 cups of white beans or any type of bean that you like.

METHOD:

1. Make the lamb stock: Brown the shanks in a little oil on all sides. Add at least 6 cups of water to the pot and one onion and all the spices.
2. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for at least one hour. Cook until the lamb falls off the bone. Cool and when it has been refrigerated for a while, take off any fat that has congealed on the surface.
3. Chop the onions; in a skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil; add the onions, fry till golden; add the tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes. Cool and puree in a blender. Set aside.
4. Reheat the lamb stock, remove the shanks and set aside. Add the beans to the stock and simmer, adding more water; add the carrots and garlic cloves,  simmer  till the beans are cooked. Add the tomato sauce, cook 20 minutes longer.
5. Remove all the fat and membranes from the shanks, keeping the meat pieces which will fall off the bone easily. Add to the soup.
6. Serve hot, garnish with some parsley.