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Roasted Mushroom, Beef and Barley Soup

Roasted Beef, Mushroom & Barley Soup

After a long day at work or even after a glorious, leisurely day of play during the weekend, sometimes one of the last things I want to do is labor in the kitchen for the kind of meal I want to enjoy.   Isn’t that terrible to admit?  But in all honesty, it’s honest.     As much as I enjoy and appreciate a home cooked meal and doing it myself, there are days where I’m not in that frame of mind -or- life is happening and the evening has totally escaped me.

Friday evening Hubbs walked in the door from work and exclaimed “OMG – are you making roast?”      I was both excited to share with him that I was trying a new soup, but saddened to burst his excited expectations of a juicy roast for dinner.     This soup is the premise for more possibilities and options of adding other vegetables to it.

Roasting the mushrooms and shallots with the meat and its juices contributed to a concentrated melt-in-your-mouth flavor meld.  While it’s roasting, it smells incredible.   You might even become impatient to just call off making the soup because it smells so wonderful – and serve the roasted ingredients alongside a salad on top of rice and a side of green beans.      I encourage you that patience will pay off.   Sacrifice a mere 20 more minutes or so and finish preparing the last steps for an unforgettable soup.

Roasting the meat with the vegetables is the key.  The next time around making this soup, I’d consider adding small, quartered red potatoes and/or quartered Roma tomatoes to the roasting pan – which would further take this already fantastic soup over the top.   The recipe called for a 1/2 cup of barley, this measurement could easily be bumped up to 3/4 cup. Even though barley is just plain good for you, don’t add too much as it expands and you want to have abundant flavorful broth to dip some bread into when you serve it.

Serve with some crusty bread that’s been lightly buttered & lightly sprinkled with colby-jack cheese. Pair it with a glass of light Red wine…it is sure to make your comfort food list of favorites.

Did You Know?

  • Barley contains eight essential amino acids.
  • Barley can regulate blood sugar for up to 10 hours after eating.
  • It is considered a whole grain.

Note: I am not a dietitian or nutritionist. Consult with your family doctor(s) for nutrition and dietary needs.

Teenie Notes

  • I added carrots to the recipe, but would also add celery the next time around. Don’t cut the carrots too small or thin, because the barley requires time to cook and you don’t want to overcook the carrots, thus making them mushy.
  • Adding small red potatoes, quartered and/or some Roma tomatoes, quartered to the roasting pan might be a nice addition.
  • Take care not to cut the meat too small. You want it to roast the full amount of time alongside the vegetables, but you don’t want the meat to get overcooked and tough.
  • If you cannot find quick-cooking barely, you may need to start precooking the required amount of barley – MINUS the 12-15 minutes you’ll be adding it to the broth.
    • Serve it with:
  • Bread: The broth is flavorful on this finished soup. Cut up some French or sourdough bread in thick slices. Lightly butter one side and lightly sprinkle some Colby-jack cheese on it. Place in the oven at 400-425 degrees for about 8-12 minutes. Serve the bread alongside the soup for dipping. It’s absolutely delicious!
  • Pair it with a light-bodied Red wine.
  • This flavorful and hearty soup is good on its own as a meal. You can serve smaller portions with a side of green salad with a light vinaigrette.
Roasted Mushroom, Beef and Barley Soup
source adapted and modified from Everyday Food, Issue 76
Makes 3-4 Servings
Ingredients

1 pound sirloin steak, fat trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound cremini or button mushrooms, stems trimmed and caps halved
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt
pepper, ground or Tellicherry peppercorns – freshly ground

4 cups low-sodium, low-to-no fat chicken broth
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley (see note regarding barley)
2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4-inch slices

1-2 teaspoons fresh Parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large bowl, toss together the sirloin steak, mushrooms, shallots, extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, taking care that there are mushrooms next to meat pieces – that the meat pieces are evenly distributed throughout the pan. Leave room around the edges of the pan so that the juices don’t escape under the foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and roast until the mushrooms and beef are browned, about 30 minutes (See my suggestion on roasting time).

Transfer the roasted ingredients to a medium pot, or soup pot and add the low-sodium, low-fat chicken broth and 1/2 cup of quick-cooking barley (See my note regarding using quick-cooking barley vs regular cooking barley), and carrots.

Bring to a boil over medium-high, then reduce heat and simmer until the barley softens, about 12-15 minutes.

To serve: Season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Roasted Mushroom, Beef and Barley Soup

Very later that evening when all the dishes were put up and the kitchen clean; Hubbs fast asleep, I was sorting through the photos I had taken of this soup and got hungry all over again just looking at the roasted ingredients on the pan. It was that good!

Note to FoodBuzz Foodie Friends:

Moving forward this year, I will be easing away from sending updates through the “Inbox” feature on FoodBuzz. I hope you will continue to follow Teenie Cakes and stay connected through Facebook, a reader or sign up for email updates. It’s going to be a fantastic year and I look forward to sharing and exchanging inspiration, recipes and ideas with you!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jasmine says

    OMG! I’m definitely going to make this soup. I’m getting so hungry just looking at the roasted ingredients. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Magic of Spice says

    I am pretty sure I could just eat the pan of roasted mushrooms 🙂 This is a fantastic recipe and although I do not eat meat, I have some big men aka sons that do 🙂

  4. Susan says

    It appears as if none of your respondents made this soup. Drooling over photos and descriptions is fine, but hellllloooooo people, MAKE IT ALREADY! You won’t be sorry. The notes are great. One benefit not mentioned: roasting the shallots, mushrooms and beef makes the house smell much better than making soup in the conventional manner. I pulled them out 8 min. early so the meat wouldn’t overcook, parboiled barley (who buys quick cooking anything???), threw in extra mushrooms, had my butcher cut fat off and pre cut the meat to save me the time and trouble. Fresh thyme is a great addition, 1+ C more broth and more salt & fresh pepper. Overall a great recipe w/ crusty bread and a side salad for cold winter nights.

    • Cristina - Teenie Cakes says

      Hi Susan: Thank you so much for the feedback and I’m so glad that the notes were helpful and that you made it too! I haven’t made this soup without roasting the main ingredients before, but you’re right – one of the benefits of roasting the veggies and meat is the incredible way it smells (Hubbs thought I was making a roast – meaning it smells good!).

      I couldn’t find quick cooking barley – tried three markets. The markets in my area are just ordinary and don’t really carry a great variety of items so wasn’t sure if it was just my local dreary markets or if it was easy to find or not. Maybe Trader Joe’s?

      Good idea adding more broth, I’ll have to note that especially if adding more vegetables. Gotta have extra broth to dip the bread in. 😉

  7. The Rowdy Chowgirl says

    Ooh, I’ll bet your house smelled good! However, I don’t know if I can follow your directions and LIGHTLY butter and cheese my bread! Somehow, a lot of butter and cheese are just sure to fall on my bread! 🙂

  12. Kimmie says

    I just love stews this time of year, but typically just sauté all ingredients and dump in the pot. I love the added element of roasting and look forward to trying this out in the next few weeks!

  15. Lindsey Hoover says

    Great photo! It is clean, well lit and focused, has an interesting composition and of course, is appetizing. Thanks for the inspiring food photography work.

  16. sandy says

    Cristina, amazing as usual ! I just passed on a Stylish Blog Award via mine . Soon as I finish a pot of lentil soup this recipe is next.

  18. Tlarsen says

    The soup looks amazing. I swear I can smell it through your photos. I’ve decided your recipe is a must for tomorrow night. Thanks for sharing it.

  19. Monet says

    Hi Christina…wow…this soup sounds amazing. I’ve never thought of roasting my meat/veggies before putting them into the soup pot, but I can only imagine what this does for the flavor of the final dish! I’m eager to try this. I wanted to tell you that I love how you organize your posts. Your Teenie notes are my favorite! Thank you for sharing with me tonight. I hope you have a great Monday.

  20. denise @ bread expectations says

    Cristina this is pure genius! I’ve made roasted vegetable soups before but never thought of adding meat to the mixture! It looks so beautiful and clear and I know it will taste incredible because of all that caramelising! Superb!

  21. Debi(Table Talk) says

    You can see from your roasting pan shot how much rich flavor has developed; a fantastic base for soup. I like your idea of adding tomatoes and potatoes to the soup—maybe even some thyme or rosemary?

  24. Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says

    Now that’s my kind of soup! This looks super hearty, warm and delicious. Perfect for winter! I love the ingredients list and the super simple instructions, too. Thanks for sharing this, Cristina! I hope you’ve had a nice weekend.

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