This hearty soup is an excellent source of vitamin A and folic acid.
Tips
Stewing beef is often used in a soup like this. But I find that it takes a lot of cooking time before it becomes tender – and I’m always in a hurry. So, I use more tender cuts of beef: either round or loin. Remember, too, that the smaller the cubes, the faster the meat tenderizes.
This hearty soup is an excellent source of vitamin A and folic acid.
Makes 4 servings
Cooking time: n/a
Ingredients
6 oz boneless round steak, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes 175 g
2 tbsp all-purpose flour 25 mL
½ cup chopped onions 125 mL
1 tsp minced garlic 5 mL
½ cup chopped carrots 125 mL
½ cup chopped green bell peppers 125 mL
½ cup green lentils 125 mL
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) tomatoes, with juice 1
4 ½ cups beef stock or chicken stock 1.125 L
1/3 cup pearl barley 75 mL
2 tsp packed brown sugar 10 mL
1½ tsp dried basil 7 mL
2 bay leaves 2
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 mL
Instructions
1. In a bowl coat beef with flour; shake off excess. In a nonstick saucepan sprayed with vegetable spray, cook beef over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove meat to a plate; re-spray pan. Add onions and garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add carrots and green peppers; cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
2. Add browned beef, lentils, tomatoes, stock, barley, brown sugar, basil, bay leaves and pepper; bring to a boil, breaking up tomatoes with back of a spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, for 45 minutes or until lentils and barley are tender. Ladle soup into bowls. Serve.
Notes
Canada’s Choice per Serving: 3 Carbohydrates, 2 ½ Meat & Alternatives
From Complete Canadian Diabetes Cookbook, Katherine E. Younker, Robert Rose Inc., 2005, http://www.robertrose.ca.
http://www.diabetes.ca/diabetes-and-you/recipes/hearty-beef-soup-with-lentils-and-barley