Description
Savory beef barley stew brings comfort from Northern European kitchens with rich, warming ingredients. Robust meat, tender vegetables, and pearl barley create a deeply satisfying meal you’ll crave during cold winter evenings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb (454 g) beef chuck roast, cut into 1” pieces, excess fat trimmed and discarded
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, finely diced
- 2 ribs celery with leaves, finely diced
- 4 cups (946 ml) beef broth
- 2 cups (473 ml) water
- ¾ cup (170 g) pearl barley
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsps all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tbsps tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Searing Station: Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, creating an ideal surface for caramelizing beef with precision and depth.
- Seasoning Technique: Thoroughly coat beef pieces with salt, pepper, and flour in a mixing bowl, ensuring a uniform, flavor-enhancing crust that will develop rich color and texture during cooking.
- Flavor Development: Methodically brown beef chunks in batches, achieving a golden-brown exterior that locks in moisture and creates intense flavor complexity, then transfer seared pieces to a holding plate.
- Aromatic Foundation: Gently sauté celery, onion, and carrots over reduced heat, allowing vegetables to soften and release natural sweetness while building a nuanced flavor profile in the culinary landscape.
- Herbaceous Infusion: Integrate tomato paste, minced garlic, oregano, and rosemary into the vegetable base, stirring continuously to blend botanical notes and establish a robust, multilayered taste experience.
- Liquid Symphony: Reunite browned beef with vegetable mixture, pour in beef broth, water, tamari, and Worcestershire sauce, bringing the liquid to a vigorous boil before reducing to a gentle simmer, allowing ingredients to harmonize and develop profound depth.
- Final Transformation: Introduce pearl barley during the concluding cooking phase, enabling the grain to absorb surrounding flavors and metamorphose the stew into a luxuriously textured, comforting culinary masterpiece.
Notes
- Sear for Flavor Depth: Brown beef in batches to create a golden crust, which locks in juices and develops rich, caramelized flavors that elevate the entire stew.
- Flour Coating Technique: Thoroughly dust beef pieces with seasoned flour, creating a protective layer that helps thicken the sauce and adds subtle texture to each bite.
- Vegetable Layering Matters: Sauté aromatic vegetables at reduced heat to coax out their natural sweetness, building a complex flavor foundation that provides depth to the stew.
- Barley Absorption Magic: Add pearl barley in the final cooking stage, allowing it to soak up surrounding flavors and transform the dish into a hearty, satisfying meal with delightful texture variations.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg