Beef Barley Soup - Jo Cooks

Ingredients

• 1 pound stewing beef
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or more if needed)
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1 large carrot (peeled and chopped)
• 2 stalks celery (cleaned and chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon oregano (fresh, chopped (or 1 tsp dried oregano))
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups beef broth (low sodium )
• 3 cups water
• ¾ cup barley (I used pearl barley, see notes)
• 1 tablespoon parsley (fresh, chopped)