This is one of Tom’s and my favorite soups. It has, in fact, always been one of my favorites but it’s a new favorite for Tom. You see, when I first bought barley to make this soup, he looked at me funny. Barley? Isn’t that what horses eat? Sigh. One bite of this soup and he was singing a different tune. Now he requests this ALL the time.
Unfortunately, after blogging nearly a year, I have still not gotten the hang of photographing soup.
Beef Mushroom Barley Soup
1 lb. beef, cut into bite sized pieces (I typically use stew meat or top round, as lean as possible)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp butter
1 small-medium onion, diced
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups beef broth
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
1/2 cup barley
8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add meat and brown.
Pour in water and red wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while you are cutting up the vegetables or longer (usually, I let it simmer about an hour).
Remove beef and cut into small bite sized chunks or shred if desired. Skim fat and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.
In a large stockpot, melt butter. Add celery, carrots, onion, and saute until tender. Stir in garlic until fragrant.
Pour in beef broth and add thyme, basil, bay leaf, beef, and reserved cooking liquid. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Season to taste.
Add barley and mushrooms and simmer until done, about 40 minutes.
