In the Irish countryside over the last century or so, the phrase "strong farmer" came to be used to describe a landholder who was raising both meat animals and grain crops. The landholding of a strong farmer usually grew a fair supply of everyday vegetables as well, the idea being that the farm ought to supply as much as possible of its owners' and workers' food needs so that only the bare minimum of supplies and foods had to be bought in from outside.

This dish is typical of the traditional homemade soups -- almost stews, they're usually so substantial -- that would appear on the farmhouse supper table, or be brought out to workers in the field who were too busy to come back to the farm holding for their meal. All the ingredients would normally come from the farm itself: leeks and peas and carrots and onions from the kitchen garden, beef and pork from the farm's own cattle, barley from the fields growing the early grain crops that would become food for man and beast -- or else would be sold to one of the big Irish brewers.

Click on "read more" for the recipe and method.    

Ingredients:

• 1 pound / about 450 grams stewing beef
• 1/4 pound / about 110 grams smoked bacon
• 1/2 cup / 4 ounces pearl barley
• 1/4 cup dried green split peas, yellow or green
• 3 tablespoons beef dripping or other solid frying fat (Crisco, lard, etc.)
• 2 onions
• 1/2 leek
• 6 - 8 baby carrots
• 1 1/2 liters / 1 1/2 quarts boiling water
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 fresh sage leaves or 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

Chop the stewing beef into pieces that will comfortably fit into the bowl of a soupspoon, about 1/2 inch square. Chop the bacon into chunks of equal size.

In a large heavy soup pot, melt half the beef dripping or other solid fat. Add the bacon and sauté it until its fat runs. Add the barley and split peas and stir well over medium heat until the barley starts to toast slightly.

Boil the water separately and add it to the barley and bacon. Add the sage and bay leaf and cover the pot.

In a deep frying pan, melt the other half of the solid fat or beef dripping and sauté the beef in it until lightly browned. Add the beef to the soup pot and stir. Peel and chop the onions small; wash the leek well and slice it very thin. Sauté the onions and leek in the fat, and when softened, add to the soup and stir. Slice the baby carrots and add to the soup: stir again.

Simmer the soup over medium-low heat for at least 1 1/2 hours, until the barley is completely cooked. Add more boiling water as necessary as the barley swells and the soup thickens. Before serving, check the seasoning and add salt or pepper as desired.

Serve sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley to garnish, and crusty bread on the side. Serves 4-6.