Vegetable Barley Beef Soup
By: Pam
Published: Monday, February 22, 2010 - 9:24am

Ingredients




4 pounds beef chuck roast
2 1/2 ounces ~ 64  bottles tomato or V-8 juice
1 1/2 cups quick barley
Broth from beef
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I use Splenda)
1 head cabbage, chopped into larger than bite-size chunks
1 large onion, chopped
8 carrots, julienne cut
8 celery ribs, julienne cut
Celery leaves

Preparation

1 Pounds beef chuck roast 2 Ounce bottles tomato or V-8 juice 3 Cups quick barley 4 Broth from beef 5 Salt and pepper, to taste 6 Teaspoon crushed rosemary 7 Bay leaves 8 Teaspoons paprika 9 Teaspoon basil 10 Teaspoon fennel 11 Tablespoon brown sugar (I use Splenda) 12 Head cabbage, chopped into larger than bite-size chunks 13 Large onion, chopped 14 Carrots, julienne cut 15 Celery ribs, julienne cut 16 Celery leaves 17 Day before serving: 18 Place beef in a very large pot, add water, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover with lid. 19 Cook until tender. 20 Let the meat cool in the broth.  I then cover it with a lid and set it in the garage (remember it’s very cold here) or in the refrigerator over-night to allow the fat to rise to the top. 21 Serving day: 22 Carefully remove the solid fat on top. 23 Remove beef from pan.  Trim and cut into bite-size pieces, refrigerate. 24 Heat broth and add V8 juice, bring to a boil. 25 Add barley, boil for 10 minutes. 26 Add herbs and brown sugar.  Stir well. 27 While the barley is cooking, chop all vegetables. 28 Add cabbage and cook for 10 minutes. 29 Remove a couple of handfuls of celery leaves from celery.  Add to soup. 30 Add onion, carrots and celery. 31 Cook at a low boil. 32 Cook till vegetables are crisp tender, not mushy soft. 33 Be sure to stir well and scrape the bottom of the pot as the barley may stick. 34 If it is too thick, add a little water at a time and more seasonings. 35 When vegetables are cooked to your liking, remove the bay leaves. 36 Add the cut up meat and stir well but, gently so as not to break up the meat. 37 After meat is heated through, remove pan from heat. 38 Serve and enjoy! 39 Pam’s note:  I learned this from Emeril:  every time you add water or another liquid to the pot or pan, it is vital to add more seasonings.

About


As a kid, I used to love Mom’s vegetable soup!  It was one of my favorite foods back then and it still is today.  It was the perfect comfort food to me in the fall and winter and I always eagerly looked forward to her cooking it. 
Mom never followed a recipe for her vegetable soup but, I watched and helped her enough times and then jotted it all down, just for safekeeping.  It contained simple fresh vegetables and herbs combined with barley in a tomato juice base.  The ingredients all pull together for a great taste and vibrant, rich colors. 
This vegetable soup is cooked in stages; it is all not just dropped into the pot and the cooking process takes a while, depending on how large the pieces of vegetables are.  So, it is not a soup that you can just decide to cook an hour or two before dinner.  I cook the vegetables until they are tender, not soft and mushy.  It makes a large amount of soup but, I give Bubba and Matt a large pan of it and then have enough left to freeze for a couple of meals for Bill and me. 
Back years ago when Mom served it, we always enjoyed it with saltine crackers; however, I adore it with a crusty Italian bread to sop up all the juices in the bottom of the bowl.  It would be great with cornbread also.  This is a very filling soup and fills our tummies with pleasure!  This soup satisfies the soul!