By Rachel Zammit Cutajar
Photo by Rachel Zammit Cutajar
Beef and barley soup must be the king of hearty soups. A deep rich broth with complex flavours together with chunks of beef and plenty of barley for carbs makes this a balanced and tasty soup that works well as a course on it’s own.
Beef and barley soup
Ingredients
- 1 kg chuck roast, cut into cubes
- Handful beef bones
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 litres chicken stock
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaf
- 10 peppercorns
- 200g pearl barley
- ½ tsp Asian fish sauce
- Handful parsley, chopped
Method
- Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown the meat all over in a Dutch oven. Brown the meat in batches so that the temperature remains high.
- Remove the beef chunks from the pot and set aside.
- Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery to the pot and stir, scraping up any brown bits left over from the meat.
- Remove the vegetables from the pot and set aside.
- Add the stock to the pot and heat, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom.
- Add the beef chunks together with the bones, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns.
- Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow to cook for 1 – 2 hours, skimming off any scum that comes to the top.
- Remove the bones and herbs.
- Add the barley and reserved vegetables and cook for another 30 mins until the veg and barley are tender.
- Add more water if the soup is too dry and add the fish sauce and stir through.
- Check for seasoning, add parsley and serve.