Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms

Looking for a vegetarian option? Cut out the meat and use vegetable broth instead.

1lb lean beef round; cut into 1” pieces
1c carrot; diced
1c celery; diced
1c crimini mushroom; diced
1c shiitake mushrooms; diced
1c onion; diced
2T olive oil
3/4c uncooked barley
6c beef stock
1/4c sherry
2 bay leaves
1T caraway seeds

- in a large pot, sautee onions, celery, and carrot in 1t of olive oil until tender
- in a separate pan, brown the beef in the remaining olive oil (do this in 2-3 batches so you don’t over crowd the pan).
- add the browned beef, mushrooms, and barley to the onions, carrots, and celery
- deglaze the pot with the sherry and then add the bay leaves, caraway seeds, and broth
- simmer on low for an hour (or until the meat is tender and the barley is cooked through).

Did you Know?
Crimini mushrooms are actually young Portobello mushrooms. It takes about 48-72hrs for a crimini mushroom to grow to Portobello size.

Can’t find crimini mushrooms in your market? Look for them to be labeled as “portobellinis”, “ baby portobellos”, “baby bellas”, or “brown Italian mushrooms”. If you still can’t find them, you can substitute portobellos.

Serves 8