Beef and Swiss chard soup with spelt from Grains for Every Season: Rethinking Our Way with Grains (page 217) by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Accompaniments: Horseradish cream; Whole wheat pitas

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • katie_q52s7k on March 02, 2026

    A family favorite. I make this often and it’s always a hit.

  • aliseroberts on October 28, 2025

    I'm giving this recipe a solid five stars! It's a wonderfully hearty soup—like pot roast in a bowl. The process is straightforward: brown the beef, sauté the onions in those rich pan drippings, then deglaze with a splash of wine. After simmering for a couple of hours, it develops a deep, multi-layered flavor that’s perfect for a chilly day. I made a few ingredient swaps based on what I had: I used Einka farro instead of spelt, giving it a good soak before cooking it low and slow. Since my local store was out of Swiss chard, I substituted celery for the stems and kale for the greens—worked beautifully! I also used the full amount of beef (some reviewers say it's too much, but that’s what makes it OH. SO. GOOD.) and scaled the other ingredients up by about 1.5x.

  • rmardel on October 25, 2024

    This soup is fabulous, and like many meat soup/stews, it improves the next day. Inspired by those who used barley in this recipe, I subbed the spelt out for Job's tears, which are gluten-free, but somewhat reminiscent of barley in texture. The jobs tears need to be soaked overnight, and at least partially cooked separately, as they take about an hour. Or I suppose one could add them earlier to the soup but you will need additional stock or water. Also, Job's tears, like barley, swells considerably more than spelt does upon cooking, twice as much, so consider halving the amount of grain.

  • jenmacgregor18 on September 15, 2024

    I used a chuck roast & barley. I really liked it. It feels healthy & satisfying. And I think Acarroll is right 1/2 the meat would be fine.

  • Acarroll on October 02, 2023

    This was tasty and felt pretty healthy. I used pulled pork from the freezer. I thought it was brisket, but it still worked. Horseradish cream complemented it greatly. I used dried thyme instead of fresh, but it still got the flavor. I used half the amount of meat and it didn't need more.

  • bernalgirl on December 31, 2022

    I adapted this soup to use leftover Chanukah brisket and it was wonderful! I used half homemade chicken stock and half gravy/water, sautéed the chard stems with the onions, adding chile flakes (always), and used barley since I didn’t have spelt grains. Perfect on a rainy winter night. Do not skip the horseradish cream!

  • allisonsemele on January 10, 2022

    I started with leftover beef with lots of onions from Six Seasons that I had stashed in the freezer. This included probably 1.25lbs of beef instead of the called for 2lbs, but it was enough meat for us. A rich and hearty soup. I liked the horseradish cream garnish, but think the soup would be fine without it. Could not find spelt, so I subbed in farro and that worked well.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this recipe

This recipe does not currently have any reviews.

You are reporting a broken online recipe link to EYB. Please confirm that you want the report submitted. Please also suggest the correct URL for this online recipe to the below textbox.