Beef and Barley Soup

I always start my beef and barley soup with leftovers, as I do most soups. So, as you will find becomes a theme in this book, you need to start with something else; in this case, you begin by enjoying a nice roast beef dinner. Next day, you launch into this recipe.

1 cup cubed left-over roast beef (The quantity here truly is irrelevant, just so long as you have some beef in the broth. Alternatively, you can use fresh stewing beef if you wish.)
3-4 cups beef broth (You can achieve this by making stock from the roast’s bones, by thinning leftover gravy, or by using a low sodium canned beef stock.)
½ cup barley (pearl or pot, doesn’t make much difference)
2 large onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced
3 carrots peeled and cubed (or you can use leftovers from the roast or frozen)
3 celery stalks peeled and coarsely diced
1 tablespoon fresh winter savoury, finely minced (thyme or rosemary will substitute well)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

In a large, heavy stock pot drizzle some olive oil and allow to heat. To this add the onions, carrots and celery and allow to develop a bit of colour to build flavour. Add beef and garlic and allow to brown a bit. Add barley and stir well so the juices all get happy together. Add stock, seasoning and herbs. Stir well. Cover and let simmer until barley is soft, about 1 hour.

Freezes fairly well. This can also be done in a crock pot while you’re away. Just brown off the veg and meat the night before and place all ingredients in the crock pot in the morning, to simmer all day.

Serves 8

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