Ancho Beef & Barley Stew

Yum! You had me at chile ancho! I am always looking for ways to incorporate the delicious flavors of dried chiles into my recipes. Have you tried incorporating some mild dried Mexican chile pods into your non Mexican dishes? A few years back, I was experimenting with a lot of fusion recipes. Mixing Mexican with Asian, Indian, Greek and even Italian! I loved it and everything was so tasty. It was fun!

What is Barley?

Barley is a grain that is high in fiber and when cooked has a slight chewy texture with a subtle nutty flavor. I feel like it makes this dish of ancho beef & barley a bit more hearty. And that’s just what I crave on cold winter nights. Barley is also a good source of iron and a tasty switch out for steamed white rice. Well, at least that’s what mom used to serve on beef stew night in our house.

Have you tried my NO Knead Bread Recipe?

That Bread Recipe is the perfect pair for a stew like this ancho beef & barley! The hardest part about the bread recipe is waiting 3-5 hours for it to proof before baking. I have prepared it twice more just in the past 8 days! I enjoyed mixing in ingredients like chile peppers, garlic and cheese, but my favorite is just plain.

What are your go to dried chiles that you use most often?

In my house, growing up, I really only remember three dried chiles. They were ancho, chile California and chile de arbol. The ancho was used for dishes like chile colorado, pork ribs, tamales and menudo. The chile california, mom would prepare the most tasty carne con chile rojo! The chile de arbol was used sparingly and mostly for mom’s toasted chile tomato salsa. I still love it to this day! Ancho peppers are mostly mild, California is medium and arbol is hot!

Don’t fret if you don’t eat meat.

This would make a delicious vegetarian stew too! Bump up the vegetables with chayote squash, zucchini, eggplant and even sweet potato is delicious in this recipe. If you don’t prefer to add barley, try lentils or garbanzo beans instead.

I say this all of the time, but prepping and measuring your ingredients ahead will make the recipe go more smoothly!

At least that has been my experience. Especially when I am trying a new recipe or using a different ingredient in my recipe. I don’t know about you, but I try to clean as I go so there isn’t a ton of dishes at the end. When I worked outside of the home, I would plan meals in my head as I rode to work. You have to know what is in your refrigerator and pantry, so take an inventory at least every ten days. Nothing worse than buying ingredients only to discover you already had it in your pantry.

Let’s Get To The Recipe!

Ancho Beef and Barley Stew

Combined my love of chile ancho flavors with this warm and comforting beef and barley stew!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican-Style

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 Servings

Ingredients

• Avocado oil
• 1 ¼-1 ½ lbs beef chuck sliced small
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cloves of garlic 14 gr
• 1 serrano pepper 10 gr, stem removed
• 3 dried chile ancho 56 gr, stems and seeds removed
• 2 Roma tomato 212 gr, quartered
• 2 c water or broth
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ medium onion 180 gr, diced
• 1 large carrot 152 gr, sliced into chunks
• 2 sticks of celery 86 gr, sliced
• 4 c chicken or beef broth
• ¾ c barley rinsed
• 3 small bay leaves
• 3 chile de arbol optional
• 2 red or white potatoes 282 gr, sliced into chunks
• ¼ c parsley chopped fine

Instructions

• Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking. After slicing the beef, let it come to room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Warm, on low, 4 cups of beef or chicken broth. Transfer the barley to a mesh strainer and rinse under cool water for 30-40 seconds. Set it aside.
• In a large skillet, at medium heat, pour in 1 ½ tablespoons of avocado oil. Add the garlic, serrano pepper and ancho peppers.
• In a large pot on another burner, at medium heat, pour in 1 ½ tbsps. of avocado oil and preheat for a few minutes.
• After a few minutes, the garlic and chiles should begin to sizzle and become slightly aromatic. Flip ancho chiles as needed so they don’t burn. After 2 minutes, add the tomatoes to one side of the skillet. Move chile ancho on top of tomatoes. Continue cooking until tomatoes start to release their juices and become slightly soft. Pour in 2 cups of water and let it come to a simmer for 6 minutes, then turn the heat off. Make sure ancho peppers are covered with water.
• In the large pot with preheated oil, add all the beef. Spread out evenly. Season with ½ tsp each of salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Let it cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring as needed.
• To the beef, add the onions, celery, and carrots. Stir well to combine and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the warm broth. Stir to combine and continue cooking at a steady simmer.
• Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the softened ancho peppers, serrano and tomatoes to the blender jar. Pour in all the liquid from the skillet. Add the cumin seeds, thyme, marjoram and oregano, 1/3 tsp pepper and salt to taste. Blend on high until very smooth.
• Pour the sauce into the larger pot with simmering beef. Pour 1 cup of water into the blender jar, swirl, then pour into pot with beef. Stir well to combine and bring to a light simmer. Add bay leaves. Mix in the barley. Taste for salt. Add the chile the arbol for a touch more heat. It’s optional. Continue cooking for 25 minutes.
• After 25 minutes, add the potatoes and continue cooking for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. The stew will thicken as it cooks down. If you prefer it to be more soup like, add an additional 2 cups of broth. Ladle into shallow bowl. Garnish with finely chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread!

Notes

Not a fan of barley? You could add lentils instead! Or simply bump up the amount of vegetables and serve stew with your favorite rice!

Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

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