Tuesday, September 20, 2011

As tasty as Ireland...

Ireland is green.  I know, because I have been there. The land is perfectly green and the food is filled with robust flavors.  The weather is sometimes rainy but most of the time nice and sunny.  I miss certain aspects of the country like the feeling of a hearty soup or stew with it being cool and rainy outside, or the alcohol content of a freshly poured Guinness.  As fall starts, I think about things like this and wonder what I can do.

I made a very good vegetable and barley soup. It was really simple.  You chop up some beef off of the bone and then place the bones and some chopped onions in a pot with water and make your own lamb broth.  Then you remove the bones and fat and other stock stuff and get just the broth.  Then fill it with the rest of the good chopped lamb, some chopped onions, leeks, celery, turnips and carrots as well as 1/4th cup of barley.  You let it come to a boil and then simmer for an hour or so.  What do you get?

The original recipe called for using beef bones and making your own beef stock and while that would have moved the flavor to a strong and robust one instead of the soft and delicate lamb flavor, I think it fits in better. I do have to say that the only change I made was adding a bay leaf in as it was finishing.  Very tasty and if you are looking for something like this, a bit more authentic barley soup recipe, let me know and I'll post or email the recipe.

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