Beef and Barley Soup
Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
400 g Lean beef, trimmed (Weighed raw. The same piece weighed after cooking has lost water, so the protein per gram is higher and the total would come out about a quarter over.)
400 g Cooked pearl barley (Cooked weight.)
200 g Carrot
150 g Onion
200 g Mushrooms
1.2 litres Beef stock (Made up from a cube or a pot.)
30 g Tomato purée
1 tbsp, about 11 g Olive oil
A few sprigs Fresh thyme
One Bay leaf

METHOD
1. Cut the beef into 1.5 cm dice, pat dry and brown it hard in the oil in two batches. Set aside.
2. Add the onion, carrot and mushrooms, all chopped, to the same pan and cook for eight minutes, scraping up the browned bits as they release liquid.
3. Stir in the tomato purée, then return the beef with the stock, thyme and bay. Simmer with the lid ajar for forty-five minutes, until the beef is tender.
4. Stir in the cooked barley and heat for five minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.

Contains gluten cereals and celery.
Nearly every stock cube and pot lists celery.

RECIPE NOTES
Browning in batches is the difference between beef soup and grey stew. A crowded pan steams the meat instead.
Barley keeps swelling in the fridge. By the third day it is nearer a stew than a soup, which some people prefer. Loosen it with hot water if not.

Full recipe: https://www.getfuel8.com/recipes/beef-barley-soup
