Beef and barley soup, a classic winter dish. Perfect for cold weather. This recipe is fairly simple and easy to prepare, but it's very comforting, delicious, and nutritious! A bit of tomato juice perfectly rounds out the rich beef flavor and the barley adds a wonderful hearty chew!
People don't pay much attention to barley, at least in the United States, but it's actually really nutritious. Barley is high in beta-glucan. That's that stuff they talk about on Cheerios commercials. It's supposed to help lower your cholesterol. It's also high in B vitamins and minerals. You can read more about barley on
whfoods. Aside from being nutritious, the texture is great. It stands up well to cooking and maintains a nice chew, even in leftover soup!
I add green beans to this version, which isn't traditional (I just like green beans). You're free to substitute peas or corn, or leave the extra veg out entirely and just add a bit more carrot and celery. I like a really thick, chunky soup. If you prefer your soup more, well, soupy you can increase the beef stock by two cups and the tomato juice by a half cup. If you increase the amount of liquid its a good idea to add an extra pinch of salt to the pot as well.
This makes lots of soup, so it's great for meal prepping or sharing with a relative. Or, if you just have a big family!
I love serving soup with some kind of bread or roll. It just feels right! I have two roll recipes on the blog that would pair perfectly with this beef and barley soup. Both are nice and soft with a great flavor, while not compromising on whole grain nutrition! My
soft honey whole wheat rolls are lightly sweet with an undertone of buttermilk and my
perfect pull-apart potato rolls are super fluffy and buttery.