Soup
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup
Hearty and delicious Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup – the ultimate comfort food. This filling dish is a cross
- Serves 6 servings
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 8 hours
- Total 8 hours
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When the entire family is struck down with the sniffles you know it’s time to pull out the big guns.
A hearty soup is definitely the best way to deal with a cold – this has apparently been scientifically proven!
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup
Beef and barley soup is actually a cross between a soup and a stew, it is so very thick and filling.
I love that you can play around with the ingredients according to the season and mood. I always add carrots and potatoes but am also partial to squash, parsnips and sweet potato.
I am on the fence about adding tomatoes but will compromise by adding a few tablespoons of tomato purée.
The soup requires a little advance prep before adding the ingredients to your slow cooker but afterwards to you can leave it to do all the work.
I usually set it to cook for eight hours overnight and reap the benefits the next day. Since the soup keeps really well you can make a big batch and serve over a few days (that’s my lunch sorted) or freeze it for later.
Remember that the barley absorbs a lot of water as it cooks so the soup will get very thick – you can always add a little warm water to thin it out when reheating it.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup
Hearty and delicious slow cooker beef and barley soup – the ultimate comfort food.
- Serves 6 servings
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 8 hours
- Total 8 hours
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb (700g) beef shin (cut into small cubes)
- 3 ½ oz (100g) pearl barley
- 3 carrots (peeled and finely diced)
- 2 celery sticks (peeled and finely diced)
- 2 leeks (white parts only, finely diced)
- 2 shallots (peeled and finely diced)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste ((= tomato purée))
- 1 large floury potato (peeled and cubed)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour ((= plain flour))
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs (thyme, oregano)
- 6 cups (1.5 liters) hot beef stock (made with 1-2 stock cubes)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to season
- handful flat leaf parsley (chopped, to garnish)
- olive oil to fry
Method
- 1
Add the flour onto a plate and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- 2
Toss the beef cubes to coat in the flour.
- 3
Heat a little olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the beef cubes, in batches, until lightly browned. Transfer to your slow cooker.
- 4
Fry the carrots, celery, leeks, shallots and potato over medium heat until slightly softened.
- 5
Stir in the tomato purée, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, dry herbs and transfer everything to the slow cooker.
- 6
Add the stock and pearl barley and stir well. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low setting.
- 7
Serve garnished with a little chopped parsley and crusty bread on the side. Thin the soup with a little water if necessary before serving.
Notes
Vary the vegetables according to what’s in season. Squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes are all great additions. Make sure you leave a bit of space at the top of your slow cooker as the barley will thicken as it cooks.
