Vegetable Barley Soup

Vegetable Barley Soup

This recipe uses a mirepoix base (2 part onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery).  Use the recipe as a starting point.  Mix up the quantity and variety of vegetables – just split them into “long-cooking” and “short-cooking”.  Seasoning can vary as well.  I used Herbes de Provence myself, but I imagine an Italian seasoning would be delicious. 

Chock-full of healthy vegetables and hearty barley, this soup is filling yet nutritious.  Play around with the vegetables and seasonings; once you get the basics down, the variations are endless.  Pair it with some sourdough bread and a salad to round out the meal.

Have fun with it, and enjoy!

Vegetable Barley Soup

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Course: Soup
Servings: 8
Author: Laura Sedor

Ingredients

Mirepoix Base

  • oil to cover bottom of stock pan
  • 1 1/2 cups yellow onion chopped
  • 3/4 cup baby carrots chopped
  • 3/4 cup celery finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine

Vegetable Barley Medley

  • 2 cups baby carrots sliced into rounds
  • 1 cup peas blanched or frozen
  • 1.5 cups green beans cut into 3/4 inch pieces
  • 2 medium red potatoes diced (1/2-inch thick)
  • 1 zucchini sliced into rounds and quartered
  • 1 can tomatoes diced, Italian style
  • 1/2 cup pearled barley
  • 2 quarts vegetable broth (adjust amount based on desired thickness)
  • herbs (such as herbes de Provence) to taste
  • salt to taste

Instructions

Mirepoix Base

  • Heat up stock pot.  Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the stock pan.
  • Add diced onions, diced carrots and diced celery to pot.  Allow to sweat for 5 minutes.
  • Add salt and herbs to taste
  • Add carrot rounds and allow to cook for 10 more minutes.  If needed, add water to keep from sticking.
  • Add white wine and allow it to reduce by half (about 2 minutes).

Vegetable Barley Medley

  • Add the vegetable stock, barley, tomatoes (including juice) and all long-cooking vegetables.  Hold off on the zucchini and any short-cooking vegetables (such as frozen peas if you aren’t using fresh).    Add seasoning to taste.
  • Bring to a boil.   Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover.
  • After it simmers for about 30 minutes, add the short-cooking vegetables.  Taste the broth and adjust seasonings if needed.
  • Bring to a simmer again and cover.  Simmer for about 1 hour (or longer if desired).  If it gets too thick, add more broth or water.
  • Enjoy!

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