So I managed to get a cold at the same time when summer arrived to Estonia. Ginger and lemon are my besties at the moment. As I’m constantly tired I thought that the best solution would be cooking a soup to eat this weekend. Unfortunately I can’t eat super-spicy food for a while so I needed to come up with the comforting feeling in other ways. I went through my spices and found allspice (jamaican pepper) and cloves that seemed like hearth-warming spices without the super kick. After checking the fridge the soup idea was born. Here’s the tastylicousness I came up with.
Minced beef and vegetable soup
(Serves 4-6 / Prep time approx. 10 min, cooking time approx. 2 hours)
What you need:
500 g minced beef (preferably organic)
middle-sized zucchini
bell pepper
about 15 cherry tomatoes (or 2-3 average tomatoes)
half a cup (100 ml) of barley
couple garlic gloves
leek
1 cm ginger
1 vegetable stock cube or fond equivalent
jug (1 l) of water
rosemary
tarragon
oregano
cloves (approx. 10)
allspice (approx. 10 grains)
couple bay leaves
olive oil
slat
pepper
What to do:
Prep the stuff. Cube the zucchini and bell pepper. Quarter the cherry tomatoes. Peel and chop garlic and ginger. Chop the leek.
Heat the stove to max. Take a big cooking pot. Pour some olive oil in. When oil is heated throw in the garlic, ginger and leek. Fry for a minute. Now add the minced beef. Fry for couple of minutes while stirring. Add the vegetables and barley. Throw in the barley and spices (approx. tablespoon of tarragon and oregano, teaspoon of rosemary). Pour in the jug of water and add the vegetable cube. Stir everything. Lower the stove to low-medium and lid the pot. Let it cook for 1,5 hours. Checking once in a while and stirring.
When 1,5 hours have passed taste the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Taste the barley. If barley seems like al dente pasta when biting into it then the soup is ready if not cook until it does. When barley is done you’re done, the soup is ready. Plate and dig in! Voilà!
Bon appétit!