Meaty Vegetable Barley Soup

recipe typed up by Samantha Miretzky

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp canola oil

2 pieces bone-in flanken 

4 carrots, diced

5 stalks celery, peeled and diced

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 leek, diced

1 kholrabi, peeled and diced

2 zucchinis, diced

1 tbsp paprika

1 of a can of tomato sauce

1 1/2 c dry red wine (I use cab)

Enough water to cover everything by a few inches

1/2 c chopped parsley

1/2 c chopped cilantro (can do all parsley instead)

1/2 c barley

Kosher Salt and coarse black pepper for seasoning along the way

Instructions:

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat.

Season flanken on both sides with salt and pepper.

Add oil and flanken to the pot and brown meat on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).

Remove flanken from the pot and set aside.

Add carrots, celery, onion and leek to the pot and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and pepper. 

Stir and cook until the onion and leek are translucent.

Add zucchini, kholrabi, and another 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper and stir. 

Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes.

Add paprika. 

Stir until combined and cook for 1 more minute.

Add sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Pour wine into the pot and use a flat bottomed spoon to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot.

Return flanken to the pot and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add the water, parsley, cilantro, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1 tsp coarsebalck pepper to the pot and bring soup to a boil. 

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours, until meat is tender.

Remove meat from the soup and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.

Shred meat, discard bones and fat and return to the pot.

Bring soup back up to a boil, add barley and cook until tender. Taste to adjust seasoning.

*Freezing Tip: If you are planning to freeze the soup, add the barley and immediately shut to stove off. The barley will slowly cook in the residual heat. Refrigerate the soup overnight, then pour into containers to freeze the next day. When you reheat the soup the barley will cook the rest of the way without absorbing all the liquid.