How to cook Nonna’s Beef barley soup

This satisfying Beef Barley Soup tastes so good when it’s chilly outside.

I just can’t get enough soup this time of the year and I enjoy trying different hearty meals.

This soup is so easy to make. Just fill up your crock pot, go shovel some snow and come back inside and warm up to this great soup. To add extra flavor to this dish, just sauté the meat and vegetables first and deglaze the pan with a little red wine before putting everything in the crock pot.

Make sure you buy some crusty Italian bread you’ll be able to soak up all that delicious broth. This hearty Beef Barley Soup is sure to become a favorite in your home.

SERVING: 4 to 6 people 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbls of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbls of butter
• 2 pounds of boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces.
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 large white potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of peas, drained
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of barley
• 1 Tbls of fresh thyme or 1/2 Tbls of dried
• 1/4 cup of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

PREPARATION:

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan.

Add the beef and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and potato and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine.

Place all the ingredients into a crock pot.

Add the tomatoes, peas, beef broth, water, barley, thyme, parsley and bay leaves.

Season with salt and pepper and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or until all the meat is nice and tender.

Remove the bay leaves and serve with the Italian bread.