1.5 cups pearl barley, uncooked
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil (or any oil you prefer)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 L or more beef broth (depends on how thick you want your soup to be)
1 bay leaf
8-12 oz beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a medium-sized pot, pour the barley in and cover with 2″ of beef broth. Bring to a boil then lower to simmer and cook for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. I like to use beef broth to cook the barley in so that

2. While your barley is cooking, you can begin to work on the rest of the soup. In a large soup pot, heat the oil and add in the carrots, celery and onion. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to tenderize. Add in garlic and sauté for another 5-10 minutes.

3. Add in remaining beef broth (or more), bay leaf and fresh parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce heat until it is gently boiling. Add in the beef. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until beef is cooked. Add barley when it is done cooking.

Enjoy!