Beef and Barley Soup
There is something truly comforting about cozying up to a steaming bowl of soup as the chilly weather sets in. This beef and barley soup is packed with hearty chunks of beef, robust barley, and tender veggies that just hits the spot.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chuck beef roast sliced into 1" steaks
- Salt and pepper to season
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 cup Diced onion (292 g)
- 1 3/4 cup Diced carrots (244 g)
- 1 3/4 cup Diced celery (194 g)
- 5 cloves Garlic minced finely (19 g)
- 8 cups Chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons Tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon each Dried Oregano, Thyme, Cumin, Black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup Pearl Barley
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Cut roast into 1” thick steaks and season both sides with salt and pepper
- Heat Dutch oven or other heavy large pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the seasoned steaks. Let steaks sear for 5 minutes then flip and let sear on the other side for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add diced onion, carrot, and celery together into Dutch oven. Cook for 5 minutes with occasional stirring to scrape up the brown bits left behind by the seared meat. While veggies are cooking place seared steaks on a cutting board and cut into 1” chunks and set aside. After veggies have cooked for 5 minutes add the minced garlic and cook for another minute with occasional stirring. Remove veggies to a large bowl and set aside. Once cooled you could cover and set in fridge until step 5.
- Add a cup of chicken broth to Dutch oven and deglaze the surface of the pot by scraping up any brown bits, then add the rest of the chicken broth. Add in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, thyme, cracked black pepper, cumin, dried rosemary, and bay leaf. Stir to combine and add the seared beef chunks and any juices left behind. Bring to a simmer removing any foam which may appear on the surface. Place a lid on the pot and simmer for 1.5 hours with occasional stirring.
- Add 1 cup pearl barley and the cooked veggies that were set aside and any juices left behind in the bowl. Continue to simmer until barley and veggies are soft, about 40 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve and enjoy
Notes
1. My favourite cut of beef to use in this recipe is beef chuck roast. But you could also use beef short ribs, or boneless blade roast. All these cuts require a slow cook which transforms the collagen into a flavourful gelatin providing moistness to the meat.
2. This recipe calls for pearl barley. Most supermarkets carry either pearl barley or quick barley. I think the texture of the pearl barley is best in this soup and it requires about a 40 minute cooking time. If you only have the quick barley, you will want to add it at the last 10 minutes of cooking as it cooks much quicker.
3. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or can be frozen for up to three months in the freezer. I portion out the soup once cooled into freezable containers or Ziploc bags. Make sure you leave enough airspace for the expansion of the broth during freezing, you don’t want to burst a bag open or break your container. The soup can be frozen for up to three months. To reheat, allow the soup to thaw and reheat in a saucepan on the stove top, or place in a bowl in the microwave.