Beef and Barley Stew

I always love recipes from Simply Recipes. This Beef and Barley Stew with Mushrooms is excellent. I revised it slightly below.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2-3 pounds beef chuck, cut into chunks
• Salt
• 3 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium onions)
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• handful of reserved fennel leaves (the fine, feathery part at the top)
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 quart beef broth
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 cup pearl barley (not cooked)
• 1 cup roughly chopped carrots
• 3 cups celery root, peeled and chopped into 3/4-inch to 1-inch chunks
• About 1/2 cup sour cream (around 1 Tbsp sour cream per serving)

Instructions:

1. Make sure meat is in bite sized pieces. Melt butter in large pot and brown the meat. Set aside.
2. Add onions and fennel on medium heat. When onions release their water, scrape up the browning bits on the pot. Cook until onions are transparent.
3. Add mushrooms. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until soft.
4. Add meat back into pot and add about a cup of the broth to scrape up any remaining browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add marjoram. Add rest of broth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 1 hour.
5. Add carrots, celeriac, and barley. Cook for another 40-60 minutes, depending on preference (At 40 minutes the vegetables are still a bit crunchy, 1 hour makes them very soft.)
6. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream plus a few sprigs of fennel leaves.