HEARTY BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP
This soup is a fantastic way to use up bits and pieces – I am using organic beef bones from Organic Land which give this soup a wonderful, comforting flavour.
2-4 beef soup bones (osso bucco or ox tail)
4 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 leeks, sliced thinly
½ swede, peeled and diced
1 cup barley
Salt and pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Generous handful fresh parsley, chopped
Place the bones in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, remove any scum that has risen to the top and reduce the temperature to a gentle simmer.
Add the herbs, onion, light part of the leek and carrots. Simmer away for 1 ½ hours. Add the swede, and barley season with salt and pepper and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the barley and swede are tender. Adjust the seasoning you may find you need to add a generous amount to salt.
Remove the bones and pick off any meat and return it to the soup, discard the bones. Add the chopped parsley and serve.
