Leftover Braised Beef Recipes

Beef and Green Bean Soup

Fried Beef n Rice

Ok so you made the Kurdish style beef ribs and now you have some leftovers. No worries. You see, my mother would always make several things out of one dish. This was economical and it saved time. She said this is how a lot of Kurdish women cook. When you refrigerate the leftover beef ribs, the majority of the fat solidifies on the top of the broth and meat. This is good because you can take a large spoon and scoop out all of that extra fat now that you're trying to use the meat and broth to make some new dishes.

The first thing I made was a sort of fried rice with the leftover rice, beef and broth. All you do is take a small frying pan and heat up 1 tablespoon of the fat from the beef and saute two of the boneless beef ribs in the fat. While you're sauteing the beef, the beef should start to fall apart into small pieces. Add two cups of the leftover rice and mix with the meat and fat. Then slowly add one cup of the broth (this broth can include the onions and spices in it). Mix the rice, beef and broth and once the ingredients are hot, it's done. You can add frozen or canned corn, peas and carrots if you'd like. I served mine with a healthy mixed greens Greek salad. It wasn't like eating leftovers at all! I sprinkled a little ground hot red pepper on top for a little kick!

The other recipe I made with the leftover braised beef was a very typical Kurdish soup. I used the rest of the beef and broth that was leftover and combined it with 4 cups of water, 1/2 pound of fresh green beans (cut up into small pieces) or you can use frozen cut green beans if you don't have fresh, and one can of tomato sauce and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. I mixed all the ingredients in a saucepan and brought it to a boil. Let it boil for about 10-15 minutes then lower the heat to a simmer and allow the soup to thicken and the green beans to cook. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour. Continue to stir every once in awhile and taste to make sure your soup has enough salt and pepper or not too much (you can always add more water if it's too salty. See the onions and beef from your dinner last night? That's why making this soup is so easy. It's getting tons of flavor from the dish you made the night before!

This soup can be eaten by itself (I ate mine with some pita bread) or it can be served over rice or couscous. And if you don't feel like eating beef again, make the soup and freeze it for later use!This soup is very typical in the Kurdish culture.