Comfort food at its finest for this Beef and Pearl Barley Soup. This is a bowlful of memories, a comforting hug on a chilly day, and a dance party for your tastebuds
1teaspoonolive oilor oil of your choice (or butter)
200gstewing beefdiced (mine was from Aldi)
1largeonionchopped
3clovesgarlicchopped
1mediumcarrot(sliced lengthwise in 4 then sliced)
½stalkcelery(sliced lengthwise in 4 then chopped small)
75gmushroomssliced in wedges
140gpearl barleyrinsed thoroughly
560mlwatercold (you can weigh 560g of water, that will be 560ml)
1tablespoonvegetable stock paste(or 1 stock cube)
1teaspoonsoy sauce
1tablespoonItalian seasoningor Mixed Herbs
Instructions
Brown beef in olive oil (you can skip this step if you’re in a hurry and just add all ingredients to inner pot and go to step 4).
200 g stewing beef, 1 teaspoon olive oil
Deglaze well, this means adding a splash of liquid and scraping with a wooden spoon any caramelised / burnt-on bits
Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
1 large onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 medium carrot, ½ stalk celery, 75 g mushrooms, 140 g pearl barley, 560 ml water, 1 tablespoon vegetable stock paste, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Pressure cook 15 minutes, high pressure. Want to leave on warm a long time and like your pearl barley with a bit of bite? Pressure cook 10 minutes instead).
After pressure cooking, wait 10-15 minutes before releasing the rest of the steam trapped inside.
This dish won’t do great on Warm for very long, unless you like very soft pearl barley (but bear in mind it’ll go mushy). If you know you're going to need to leave it on keep warm and hate mushy pearl barley, reduce the pressure cooking time to 10 minutes maximum (but bear in mind the beef may not be as tender).
Great reheated the next day (and it will thicken). If it thickens too much, add some stock the next day to loosen.
Idea: you could stir frozen peas at the end, or fresh spinach