(10-96) I love to have soup and bread for a meal. It's easy, wholesome, and satisfying. This beef soup is simple; and it does not seem to have a nationality. You can expand it into a richer soup by adding beans, onions, carrots, etc. If shank scares you, you can substitute it with other kinds of beef. I like shank because you need bone to make soup tasty. Heat up 2 or 3 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add beef to brown for a few minutes. Then add tomato and enough water to make soup. Use high fire first. After water boils, then reduce fire to low. Let it boil for about an hour or two until beef is soft. Add potato and carrots about 20 minutes before soup is done. If you want to add beans, soak them first, and add them at the beginning, for beans take a long time to soften. If you want to add cabbage, do it at the last 5 minutes. Do not add salt at the beginning, it will make beef tougher to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste at the end. I don't have the quantity of each ingredient available. I usually just throw in whatever I have in the frige. Usually I use 2 pieces of beef shank, and 3 large fresh tomatoes, and 2 large potatoes to make about 2 to 3 quarts of soup. The principle is the more beef and bone you have, the tastier the soup will be. Good luck and Buon appetito.