Pasta
Leftover beef noodle broth
This recipe is a brilliant way to use up any leftover roast beef. It’s deeply flavourful and aromatic – and thanks to the herbs and spices, it also tastes deliciously fresh.
Ingredients
For the beef broth
- onion: 1 onion, roughly chopped
- ginger: 50g/1¾oz fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- cinnamon: 1 cinnamon stick
- star anise: 2 star anise
- cloves: 4 cloves
- coriander seeds: 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- cardamom: 1 tbsp cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- beef stock: 1.5 litre/2¾ pints beef stock
- fish sauce: 2 tsp fish sauce
- brown sugar: 1 tsp soft brown sugar
- black pepper: salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- rice noodles: 120g/4¼oz rice noodles
- pak choi: 2 small pak choi, trimmed and finely sliced
- beansprouts: 100g/3½oz beansprouts
- roast beef: 200g/7oz cooked roast beef, thinly sliced
- spring onions: 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
- fresh coriander: 2 tsp chopped fresh coriander, leaves and stalks
- Thai basil: 1 tsp chopped basil or Thai basil leaves
- chilli: 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- lime: 1 lime, cut into quarters
Method
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To make the broth, char the onion and ginger in a large saucepan or casserole over a medium–high heat until lightly blackened all over.
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Stir in the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, coriander seeds and cardamom pods. Cook for another couple of minutes before pouring in the beef stock. (If you have any leftover juices or bones from the cooked beef then add these to the pan as well.) Do not season with salt at this stage.
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Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
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Strain the broth into a clean large saucepan and discard the spices and vegetables.
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Stir the fish sauce and sugar into the broth and season with salt and pepper, if preferred.
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To serve, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and drain thoroughly. Divide the noodles, pak choi and beansprouts between two serving bowls and lay the sliced beef on top.
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Bring the broth back to a simmer then divide between the two bowls. Scatter the spring onion, coriander, basil and chilli on top and garnish with the lime wedges. The lime should be squeezed over just before eating.
Leftover beef noodle broth