Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef-Barley Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 beef shanks, cut 1-inch thick (about 4 lb.)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
4 ribs celery with leaves, cut in 1-inch pieces
3 qt. water
6 large carrots, cut in 1-inch chunks
2 leeks (white part only), thinly sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
4 turnips, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
bouquet garni (3 stems parsley, tied with 1 bay leaf)
8 plum tomatoes, chopped or 1 (16 oz.) can with juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. uncooked pearl barley
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Place beef shanks in shallow roasting pan.
Roast, uncovered, at 400\u00b0 for 1 hour.
Transfer shanks to large soup kettle, scraping up juices from bottom of roasting pan and adding to kettle.
Add onion, celery and water.
Bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to low.
Partially cover and cook with lid slightly ajar, skimming off foam that rises to top, 2 1/2 hours.
After boiling beef 2 1/2 hours, remove and cut into serving size pieces.
Add carrots, leeks, parsnips, turnips, bouquet garni, tomatoes and salt and pepper, if desired.
Simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes. Add barley and simmer partially covered 30 minutes longer.
Remove bouquet garni; taste and adjust seasonings, if desired.
Makes 4 quarts of soup.