Well, class once again the Colorado winter has decided to come back with a vengeance. After a week and a half of temperatures in the high 60’s (one day even knocking on 80), we are being hit with a blizzard.
But I’m always one for looking at the bright side of things, and this blizzard is a great excuse to make one last soup/stew before it’s too ridiculous. Today’s stew has been a family favorite for many years, Beef and barley vegetable stew to be exact.
Growing up we always used to refer to this stew and kitchen sink soup, mainly because it has a long list of ingredients. But I decided to not use that name in today’s recipe. First, because I figured “kitchen sink soup” probably wouldn’t sound that appetizing to most of you folks. And secondly, this “soup” is fairly thick which means we really should call it a stew. Thus I can up with the very unoriginal moniker beef and barley vegetable stew. Let me know if you can think of a better name. Honestly!
Either way, the name of this stew doesn’t matter. What does matter is that It’s super savory, chock full of good ingredients, and will fill just about anyone up on a cold evening. So if you’re looking for all of those things then let’s get to making this beef and barley vegetable stew!
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- The vegetables that we are using in today’s stew are simply the ones that I like. However, you can easily sub these out with any type of vegetables you prefer. One of my favorites is cabbage.
- I like using top sirloin for this recipe, however, it is also great with a chuck roast. Just make sure to cut the chuck roast into larger sized chunks and increase the simmer time in step six to 3-4 hours.
- For another change-up, I suggest using farro instead of the pearled barley.
- A key to this recipe is the celery heart. If you’ve never heard of it, it is the central part of the celery with small, yellow, and tender celery sticks along with their leaves. Make sure to chop up those leaves and add them as they add great flavor.
Beef and Barley Vegetable Stew Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 3 to 4 hours
Servings: 6 to 8
Ingredients
1 ½ Lb of top sirloin, cut into ¼-½ inch sized cubes
2 Quarts of beef stock
1 Cup of dry white wine
1 Medium onion, diced
3 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Small can diced tomatoes
Celery heart, plus one to two more sticks of celery, cut into 1/2-inch sized chunks
4 Carrots, peeled and cut into coins
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch sized chunks
Roughly 30 green beans, cut into 1-inch sized pieces
1 Cup of pearled barley
2 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon of oil
¼ Teaspoon of each (rosemary, oregano, thyme, and marjoram, all dried)
1 Bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown beef: Get out a large pot (at least 6 quarts) and place the tablespoon of oil in it. Place the pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef in it.
And by brown, I want to reiterate that it needs to actually get some of that brown seared look, not grey.
- Add the onion, garlic, and herbs: Once the beef has been browned toss in the onions and let them cook until they become translucent. Then add in the minced garlic and herbs. Stir them in and let them cook for another minute.
- Add in the tomato paste and flour, stir until they coat everything, and let them cook for another minute or two.
- Deglaze the pot with the wine.
- Add the stock, carrots, celery, tomato and bay leaf: Begin by pouring in the beef stock. Add just a cup of it at a time, and stir it so that the flour and tomato paste incorporates into the stock.
After all of the stock has been added toss in the carrots, celery (including the heart), can of tomatoes, the bay leaf, and one cup of water. Stir this all up and let it come to a simmer.
- Cover the pot and let everything simmer for one to two hours.
- Add in the green beans, potatoes, and barley. Cover the pot and continue to let everything simmer until the potatoes are tender. It should be about an hour.
- Add salt & pepper to taste and serve the beef and barley vegetable stew in a big bowl, enjoy.
Beef and Barley Vegetable Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Lb of top sirloin cut into ¼-½ inch sized cubes
- 2 Quarts of beef stock
- 1 Cup of dry white wine
- 1 Medium onion diced
- 3 Cloves of garlic minced
- 1 Small can diced tomatoes
- Celery heart plus one to two more sticks of celery
- 4 Carrots peeled and cut into coins
- 2 Russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch sized chunks
- Roughly 30 green beans cut into 1-inch sized pieces
- 1 Cup of pearled barley
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon of oil
- ¼ Teaspoon of each rosemary, oregano, thyme, and marjoram, all dried
- 1 Bay leaf
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown beef: Get out a large pot (at least 6 quarts) and place the tablespoon of oil in it. Place the pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef in it. And by brown, I want to reiterate that it needs to actually get some of that brown seared look, not grey.
- Add the onion, garlic, and herbs: Once the beef has been browned toss in the onions and let them cook until they become translucent. Then add in the minced garlic and herbs. Stir them in and let them cook for another minute.
- Add in the tomato paste and flour, stir until they coat everything, and let them cook for another minute or two.
- Deglaze the pot with the wine.
- Add the stock, carrots, celery, tomato and bay leaf: Begin by pouring in the beef stock. Add just a cup of it at a time, and stir it so that the flour and tomato paste incorporates into the stock. After all of the stock has been added toss in the carrots, celery (including the heart), can of tomatoes, the bay leaf, and one cup of water. Stir this all up and let it come to a simmer
- Cover the pot and let everything simmer for one to two hours.
- Add in the green beans, potatoes, and barley. Cover the pot and continue to let everything simmer until the potatoes are tender. It should be about an hour.
- Serve the beef and barley vegetable stew in a big bowl and enjoy.
Inspiration from other blogs
From A Spicy Perspective
From Spend With Pennies
