With St. Patrick’s Day quickly approaching, I thought I’d share my recipe for this awesome soup for those of you who may have leftover corned beef. This is so easy to assemble and a breeze to make in your Ninja® 3-in-1 cooking system. Don’t have a Ninja yet? I have included instructions on how to make this on your stovetop in the “Preparation” section below.

One of the things I love about this festive soup is that it’s something that you don’t run across every day in stores or restaurants. That’s a shame because it is so delicious. Plus, since March can be quite blustery and cold depending on where you live, a nice hot bowl of this hearty soup is just the ticket. Even if you only make this once a year, you will be glad you did! Savor every drop.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped (about ¾ cup)
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 ½ cups Yukon gold potatoes, diced (2-3 potatoes)
• 32 oz. chicken broth (use homemade if you have it)
• ½ head of cabbage, coarsely chopped (about 4 to 5 cups)
• 1/3 cup pearl barley
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley (use more if you have fresh)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 large bay leaf
• Sea salt to taste (remember, your corned beef may be salty, so go light)
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 2 cups of cooked corned beef brisket, diced (check out Kel’s Guinness Corned Beef recipe)
• 1 can (28 oz.) whole plum tomatoes with the juice, squished (I use Tuttorosso)
• White wine vinegar (optional)
• Hot sauce (optional)

Preparation

(Note: If you do not own a Ninja® 3-in-1 cooking system, prepare this in a large Dutch oven on the stovetop. Cook times are approximately the same – just add the corned beef and canned tomatoes once the carrots and potatoes are tender.)

Set your Ninja to Stovetop High. Heat the olive oil and sauté the celery, onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Add the carrots and potatoes, sauté 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, cabbage, barley, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil and then switch the Ninja to its low setting on the Slow Cooker mode for 30 minutes.

Add the squished tomatoes and corned beef and mix well.

At this point, I decided to add several splashes of white wine vinegar and hot sauce as well as some more salt and pepper, but that is optional.

Slow cook for another 15 minutes or so. You may need to add some extra liquid (water, chicken stock, etc.) to the soup, depending on whether you like it thick or a little more brothy.

Serve with crackers, bread, salad or a sandwich. And a good Irish beer, of course.

If soup is not your thing, check out my recipes from last year on how to use your corned beef leftovers with Kel’s Corned Beef Hash and my Reuben Paninis. Both are tasty, tasty, tasty.

Have a great St. Patrick’s Day and remember, Guinness is good for you.

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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