Recipe: Beef Barley 'Dragon' Soup

This recipe comes to us from Mrs. Foster’s grade 2 class in West Kelowna, BC. It’s featured in Soup Sisters’ newest cookbook The Soup Sisters Family Cookbook, which offers an array of delicious soup recipes from celeb chefs and even school kids. Founder Sharon Hapton stopped by The Goods to share this tasty recipe with us. It’s a hearty soup that’s sure to be a hit with the kids; with plenty of veggies, it’s incredibly nourishing and the alphabet pasta is fun to eat.

Beef Barley Dragon Soup

By Mrs. Foster’s grade 2 class 2015-2016 in West Kelowna, BC

The secret to making dragon soup is a dragon needs to be the chef. In our class, the smallest child wears a dragon costume when we make this soup.

Ingredients

• 6 beef bouillon cubes
• 6 cups water
• 1 lb stew beef, cubed
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp dried herbs of your choice (see method) or 2 bay leaves
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• ½ cup yellow or green beans, chopped
• ¼ cup pearl or pot barley, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup alphabet noodles or macaroni pasta
• ½ cup frozen or drained, canned corn kernels
• ½ cup frozen peas
• Dinner buns to serve
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a large pot, dissolve the bouillon cubes in the water, then bring to a boil over high heat.

Meanwhile, toss the beef in the flour and salt and pepper to taste until the beef is well coated. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, turning occasionally, until the beef cubes are browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.

Transfer the beef to the large pot, along with any other seasonings you like, such as dried oregano, tarragon, or basil leaves or a couple of bay leaves.

Bring the stock back to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the beef is tender, about 1 hour.

Add the onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, beans and barley. Bring the soup back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the barley and vegetables are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the noodles, corn and peas and simmer until the barley, noodles and vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Fish out and discard the bay leaves (if using), then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the hearty soup into warm bowls and serve with dinner buns.