Homemade and Delicious Beef and Barley Soup Recipe
Please your taste buds with this delicious homemade beef and barley soup recipe. Barley, with its infinite health supporting advantages, is a smart idea for a tasty and wholesome soup.
What is barley, you might ask? Well, besides being fermented for the making of beer, the whole grain barley is a healthy, high fiber, high protein food boasting numerous health benefits. It is a cereal grain and member of the grass family used in many health foods also.
When cooked, barley has a chewy texture and a kind of nutty flavor.
According to the FDA, barley’s soluble fiber reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Barley also contains insoluble fiber, which reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
With less that 1 gram of fat per serving, barley is virtually fat-free and also cholesterol free. So, if you didn’t know what barley was, and all of its health benefits, you and your body are missing out.
This beef and barley soup recipe is best made with beef shanks. The shank is the leg of the steer and is somewhat tough. But when cooked in a soup, it becomes tender and really adds a pleasing taste to the soup.
With fresh vegetables added, this beef barley soup is also a solid, wholesome and healthy soup, and lets not forget to mention, very tasty.
BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP RECIPE
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of beef cross cut shanks with bones
- 1 tbl canola oil
- 2 carrots, chopped in 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 14oz can of beef stock or broth
- 1 tsp kitchen bouquet
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup of fresh or frozen green beans (optional)
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
Instructions
- Add the beef stock and 4 cups of water to a 4qt stock pot. Add the beef shanks, Kitchen Bouquet, salt, basil, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 1 hour
- Remove beef from soup. Let it cool. Then remove meat from bones and cut into 1 inch pieces. Add back into soup.
- Meanwhile heat canola oil in a separate pan and saute carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and green beans (if adding fresh green beans, cut them in thirds and add them now) for about 3 minutes. Add sauted vegetables and barley into soup and continue simmering for another hour or until meat and barley are tender. Taste and add salt if needed.
- If adding frozen green beans, add them now. Simmer another 3 or 4 minutes. Serve with warm buttermilk biscuits and a tomato salad.
Leave a Reply