Italian Pearl Barley Soup
An easy and comforting hot soup with lots of flavour that will bring you back to the Tuscan hills.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Small non-stick pan
- Chef's Knife
- Kitchen Robot (or anything else to mince the veggies with)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 stack celery
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 can plum tomatoes (400gr/8oz)
- 1 l chicken broth (5 cups)
- 200 gr pearl barley
- 2 bay leaves
- 100 gr guanciale/pancetta
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Instructions
- Start by heating the 2 tbsp of olive oil and by finely dicing the onion, carrot, and celery in a kitchen robot. If you don't have one, you can do it by hand trying to dice them as fine as possible.
- When the oil is hot enough, add the onion, celery and carrot and let them cook for 10 minutes or until they are soft and brown.
- Add the plum tomatoes to the mix and roughly divide them with a spatula. You can also use already-chopped tomatoes if you want. Let it cook and mix for approximately 10-15 minutes. Rinse your pearl barley.
- Add your chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the pearl barley, bring back to a boil, and reduce the heat to bring it to a simmer. Add the bay leaves and adjust with salt and pepper. Cook according to instructions (approximately 1 hour) on a low heat.
- In the meantime, dice your guanciale or pancetta and cook it in a non-stick pan. No need for oil here, as it will cook in its own fat. Cook until golden and then turn heat off. When the pearl barely soup is ready, add it to the dutch oven.