Bowl of Beef Soup

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 13

I always find myself sluggish during cold and rainy days. No, I don't find gloomy weather depressing, but rather enjoy it too much. Too much where almost nothing gets done. So my remedy, I hot bowl of beef soup.

The idea for this quick recipe stems from my inability to be productive during such days. And if you have the same problem, then this might also do the trick for you.

Your Ingredients

1 tbsp of olive oil
500g of coarsely chopped lean beef chuck
2 peeled and finely chopped carrots
2 finely chopped celery sticks
1 finely chopped large brown onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 tsps of chopped fresh rosemary
500ml (2 cups) of reduced chicken stock
500ml (2 cups) of water
80g (1/3 cup) of rinsed pearl barley
2 dried bay leaves
3 (about 400g) of finely chopped large truss tomatoes
300g of sweet potato peeled, cut into 1cm pieces

How to cook your Beef Soup

Over medium heat, pour half of your oil into a large sauce pan.

Add the beef and stir for not more than 3 minutes until it becomes brown.Remove beef and set aside.

Add in the remainder of your oil into the pan and add in the onions, celery and carrots. Stir the mixture for 8 minutes until it softens.

You then add the rosemary and garlic and cook for 1 minute to release its aroma.

Now throw the beef back into the pan.

Throw in your bay leaves, barley, water and chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once it starts to boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and allow the mixture to simmer for 1 1/2  hour. Check dish from time to time and remove any scum that surfaces.

After an hour and thirty minutes, you then add your sweet potatoes and tomatoes and allow dish to simmer for another 30 minutes for the beef to become tender.