Vegetable Barley Soup
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It’s cold and rainy here today, and the only thing that I wanted was a big bowl of Vegetable Barley Soup. As a matter of fact, I actually did all of my running around yesterday, just to insure that I could stay in my pajama pants for the majority of the day. 🙂 So Alex and I have been watching football and snacking, and now I’m closing out the evening with this baby. I’ve used my favorite mirepoix base for this simple soup and I added in some potatoes and pearl barley to make it a bit hearty.
I also threw in some kale because it felt like the right thing to do, but as usual, use whatever veggies you have on hand. This is another one of my soups, that has the tendency to soak up all of the liquids, so you may have to add in some more near the end depending on how thick you like your soup to be, so adjust accordingly.
If you like the recipe for my Vegetable Barley Soup, then you may also want to try my Vegetable Rice Soup.
Get the Recipe: Vegetable Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, or an oil or butter of your choice
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 small Idaho potatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- A pinch of red chili flakes, optional
- A pinch of nutmeg
- 7 cups vegetable broth, more or less depending
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups kale, thinly sliced
Equipment
- Large Pot or Dutch Oven
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-low heat, add in the carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes. Sauté until the vegetables have slightly softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add in the garlic, red chili flakes, nutmeg, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir in the vegetable broth, barley, and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Simmer covered until the barley is soft, about 30 minutes.
- Stir in the kale and simmer for several more minutes until it has wilted and is cooked through, 2 to 3 more minutes. Discard or compost the bay leaf . Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.
- Ladle into your bowls and enjoy!
