Hearty Beef and Barley Soup With Root Vegetables

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 12 ounces steak , cut into cubes
• 1 large red onion , sliced thin
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon caraway seed
• 4 large carrots , chopped fine
• 1 cup finely chopped turnip
• 1 cup parsnip
• 1 cup finely chopped rutabaga
• 2⁄3; cup barley (raw)
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 4 cups beef bouillon
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups very finely shredded fresh spinach leaves

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat in a large pot.
2. Add the steak and brown well, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove steak and leave the juice.
4. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil, onion, bay leaf and caraway seeds.
5. Cook for about 4 more minutes.
6. Add the carrots, parsnips, turnip, rutabaga, barley, and thyme.
7. Stirring constantly, cook for about 5 minutes.
8. Stir in bouillon, water, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.
9. Bring to a boil over high heat.
10. Immediately reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
11. Discard bay leaf, stir in the spinach and serve.

Reviews

[Dorie's Lori]

The family really loved this soup; even both kids had seconds. A tasty comfort food! I would especially recommend it if you want your family to eat some different vegtables than the usual, or if you really like root veggies, as they definitely give the soup a different flavor. I followed the recipe pretty closely, using sirloin tips. Since the recipe didn't say, I added them with the barley. They turned out very tender. For the veggies, I mostly "pulsed" in my food processor, so they were pretty small, and that worked well - easy plus made a great texture. Lots of flavor, but wasn't like biting into pieces of vegtables. I did need to simmer the soup closer to 50 minutes. I made the soup in the afternoon, and we ate it for dinner, but in my haste to eat it, I forgot to add the spinach. We'll do that with the leftovers. Anyway, the soup got better as it sat.