Beef And Mushroom Barley Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 1/2 c.)
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 c.)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 6 cups low sodium beef broth
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
• 1/2 cup hulled barley or 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme (or 1 t. dried)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Recipe

• 1 in a big soup pot, heat 2 teaspoons oil over med-high heat.
• 2 sprinkle the meat with the salt and pepper.
• 3 add meat to the pot and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total.
• 4 transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• 5 add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot; add in the onion and mushrooms; cook over med-high heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
• 6 add the carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• 7 add the broth, tomatoes, browned meat, barley, and thyme and bring to a boil.
• 8 decrease heat to low, cover, and simmer until the barley is cooked and the meat is tender, about 50 minutes.
• 9 taste and season with salt and pepper.
• 10 ladle into soup bowls and garnish each serving with a sprinkling of parsley.