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Hamburger Soup

I know, the name is catching you off guard, right? Here's the story: this recipe is from an old, classic book of comfort food recipes, where I'm pretty sure ground beef was referred to as 'hamburger'. This soup was a staple in my childhood, a warm blanket of deliciousness that everyone, even the pickiest eater, devoured. It's basically a tomato, beef and barley soup, which I've tweaked a touch, but the taste and memory of dinner-time joy holds strong and is now a favourite among my family. My 7-year-old, who claims he doesn't like ANY soup, LOVES this soup. So there.

Servings: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 lb each ground beef and ground pork (or two lbs beef)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 med onion, finely chopped
  • 4 med carrots, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried
  • 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 (398mL) cans beef consommé* or 900mL carton low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 (398mL) can tomato soup
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • 1/2 cup pearl barley
  • Fresh parsley and parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)
Instructions

  1. Before cooking, consider following note at bottom and using food processor to finely chop veg and puree tomatoes before adding to pot. Do this if you have kids!

  2. Cook meat in large pot, over medium-heat heat, until beginning to brown. Season with a good pinch each salt and pepper. Add onions, carrot, celery, bay leaf and thyme. Cook 5 minutes, or until softened.

  3. Add tomatoes, consommé plus 2 cups water OR beef broth plus 1 cup water, tomato soup, and W sauce (if using). Bring to boil; add barley and reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour, partially covered. Stir occasionally.

  4. Remove lid and reduce to low simmer for 1 hour or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Soup consistency should be thinner than a hearty beef chili but thicker than a brothy soup. Season with salt, if needed, and add a few extra cracks of black pepper.

  5. Garnish with finely chopped parsley and/or grated parmesan cheese, if you like. Serve with crusty bread, freshly baked biscuits or warm cornbread.

Recipe Notes

Finely chop using food processor: For a uniform consistency (and no chunks!) place onion, carrots and celery, one veg at a time, into bowl of food processor and pulse until very finely chopped or minced. Transfer to pot to cook. Puree can of tomatoes in food processor until smooth, before dumping into the pot.