I've been working on a few recipes to share. This recipe is a bean and barley soup recipe that my mother gave me a few years back. I have no idea where she got it from so I can't give that person credit (oh well). When I was first beginning to cook I followed recipes WORD FOR WORD. Now I tend to venture from the recipe more than normal. I like soups to be more like a stew--very little broth and lots to munch on. I topped my "soup" with homemade croutons and parmesan cheese (because parmesan cheese makes everything better!).
Bean & Barley Soup-Makes a ton of servings :-)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted tomatoes)
28 oz of your favorite broth (I used 32 oz of vegetable broth but you could use chicken)
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
(I added a 15 oz can of great northern beans also rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup pearl barley
2 cups of firmly packed spinach (I used kale)
HEAT oil in a saucepan. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender.
ADD tomatoes, broth, beans, and barley. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is done. Stir in spinach and season with ground pepper. Heat through.
A few tips for what to do with your leftover celery and carrots. You can of course eat those two wonderful vegetables with hummus, peanut butter, or some other yummy dip. If you don't think you'll get around to eating them in time, you can slice your carrots and celery and blanch them. Blanching is just cutting up the vegetable, placing it in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then putting that vegetable in a cold water bath. The cold water bath stops the cooking process. I quickly pat the vegetables dry and place them in a freezer safe container. Keep in mind, you will not be able to eat those vegetables raw again, but they are a quick addition to any dish you are cooking and the prep work is already done.
Enjoy!
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