Beef with Barley Soup* @LucyBurdette

 * With guest vegetables

LUCY BURDETTE: Quite a few years ago I remember making a beef barley soup with my beloved stepmother. I know that it had parsnips in it and we liked it a lot. I thought maybe it was from the magazine Bon Appétit, since this was before Google search was common. I looked around and did not find exactly what I remembered, but I put together something delicious. You are most welcome to shift the vegetables around as your taste dictates. I added two handfuls of spinach at the last minute since they needed to be used and we have been short on green in our diet.

Ingredients

1 lb beef, trimmed of excess chunks of fat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

3 Tbsp olive oil

3-6 chopped carrots (depending on size)

3 ribs chopped celery 

3 leeks

2-3 parsnips

3 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cloves minced garlic

1 (32 oz) carton good beef broth

1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp minced fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried, optional

2 tsp minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried, optional

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup pearl barley, soaked and rinsed twice

3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

Once the beef is trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces, sear them in hot olive oil until brown. Sprinkle with salt. Move them to a clean plate.

Add a tablespoon more or so of olive oil, then sauté the carrots, celery, leeks, and parsnips for a few moments. Add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté that for a few moments as well. Add the beef back into the pot and cover everything with 32 ounces of good beef broth and 2 cups of water. Simmer for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the barley and soak it while the meat and vegetables are cooking. (I rinsed it several times.) Add the barley to the pot along with the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. You may add rosemary and thyme if you wish, I did not. Add several grinds of fresh black pepper.

Simmer the soup for another 45 minutes or until the barley is cooked through (soft). Add the chopped spinach, if using, and cook for a few minutes until wilted. If the soup seems too thick, add more broth or water.

Serve with good bread and a green salad. And cheers to my wonderful stepmother Mary Jane!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. You can order that wherever books are sold. If you’re all caught up, try Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS.

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