Sliced Steak and Mushroom Barley Soup
Rach boosts the flavor of beef and barley soup with the addition of select herbs, mushrooms and sherry.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cups pearl barley
- 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
- 1/4 cup EVOO, plus more for drizzling
- 6 portobello mushroom caps, gills scraped, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 4 shallots, finely chopped
- 2-3 small stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1/3 recipe Roasted Garlic Paste, recipe follows (or 2 heads roasted garlic)
- 1 pound flatiron steak
- About 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
For the Roasted Garlic Paste:
- 6 heads garlic, tops trimmed off to expose all of the cloves
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Bring a medium size pot of salted water to a boil. Add the barley and cook to just shy of tender, 25-30 minutes. Drain in a sieve and run under cold water, then drain again.
Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a small saucepan with about 2 cups water. Bring to a low boil, then simmer until tender. Transfer the mushrooms with a slotted spoon to a food processor. Pour in all but the last few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid (grit from the mushrooms may settle there). Puree until smooth.
Heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the portobello mushrooms and cook until browned. Add the thyme, shallots, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 5-6 minutes. Deglaze with the sherry, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Stir in the stock, porcini puree and Roasted Garlic Paste.
Meanwhile, bring the steak to room temperature and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle the steak with EVOO, then cook for 7-8 minutes, turning once. Let rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes, then thinly slice and cut into bite-size pieces. Dress with the Worcestershire sauce.
Stir the parsley and barley into the soup, then ladle into shallow bowls. Arrange the steak on top of the soup.
Cook's Note: The cooked barley can be refrigerated in a resealable plastic bag until ready to serve the soup. The soup, without the barley and steak, can be refrigerated for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over medium heat.
For the Roasted Garlic Paste:
Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
Arrange the garlic in a cluster on a large piece of foil and drizzle with 1/4 cup EVOO. Wrap up the garlic in the foil to make a tightly sealed pouch. Roast until very tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic from the skins into a food processor. Add the remaining 3/4 cup EVOO and the honey and season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a small container. (Alternatively, you can mash the garlic paste with a fork instead of using a food processor.)
