Saturday Soup 2 Fall 2007

As promised, here is a non-bean, non-pea soup. I realize not everyone can or wants to eat legumes.

My pick this week is a hearty soup that really makes a meal all in itself. It will not suit the vegetarians among my readers, so in advance I promise an orange soup recipe, maybe anticipating Hallowe’en.

The one caution I do remember from making this soup is that it is a rigorous job to prepare—lots of slicing, dicing and cubing. But the soup itself is very yummy and freezes well.

Beef and Barley Soup
Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
2 T. of vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped peeled turnip
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup chopped peeled yams (red skinned sweet potatoes)
1 cup chopped peeled potatoes
1 cup chopped celery
7 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
7 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup pearl barley
1-1/2 T. chopped fresh thyme
1-1/2 T. chopped fresh oregano
2 lbs. lean stew beef, cubed (3/4" x 3/4")

Method:
1) Heat oil in large heavy pot over medium heat. Add beef cubes and brown on all sides. Remove beef from pot and transfer to large bowl, retaining pan juices in the pot.

2) Return the pot to medium heat. Add onions to the pot and lightly sauté for 2 minutes (until just starting to become transparent). Add turnip, yams, potatoes, and celery to the pot and sauté for 10 minutes. Remove all of these vegetables from the pot and transfer them to the large bowl with the meat.

3) Returning the pot to medium heat once again, add pearl barley and stir to coat over the heat (about 1 minute). Carefully add beef stock and chicken stock to the pot. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add fresh herbs, then beef and sautéed vegetables back into the broth mixture. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

4) Add broccoli and cauliflower florets and cook until just tender.

Now, enjoy.