Posted on 02/22/2018 4:20:07 PM PST by Jamestown1630
When I was young and single, I rented part of an older lady’s house for many years. She had children who had become vegetarians, and was always hunting for something meatless but special to make for holidays. One Christmas she made this Dilled Vegetable-Barley Soup, from Molly Katzen’s ‘Enchanted Broccoli Forest’; it became one of my favorite recipes, and Katzen’s book one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. If you aren’t averse to the wine, add it, as it really brightens the soup; but the recipe is still very good without it. I’ve never used the fennel in this recipe, but you may want to include it. (In my experience, this soup freezes well.)
Dilled Vegetable-Barley Soup
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
5 1/2 cups water, divided, more if needed
2 to 3 tablespoons butter or canola oil
2 cups minced onions
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
2 medium-size carrots, diced
1 medium-size rib celery, minced
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
4 cups water or broth
6 tablespoons dry white wine, optional
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dried dillweed
1/2 cup minced fresh fennel, optional
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional toppings: Sour cream or yogurt; toasted sunflower seeds; minced fresh parsley or chives or combination
Place the barley and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook about 30 to 40 minutes, until tender.
Melt the butter or heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, salt and bay leaf and cook over medium heat until the onions begin to soften, for 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add 4 cups water, the wine if desired, lemon juice and cooked barley. Lower the heat to a quiet simmer. Cover and let the mixture bubble peacefully for about 30 minutes. The soup will thicken -- you might want to add more water.
Shortly before serving, stir in the dill, fennel if desired, garlic and black pepper. Taste to adjust the seasonings. Serve hot with all, some or none of the optional toppings.
___________________________________________
While thinking about barley soup, I happened to find ‘The Dragon’s Kitchen’, the website of a blogger from Ontario, who made a project of re-creating recipes from the menu of the Titanic. They include a ‘cream of barley soup’ which looks very comforting:
http://www.thedragonskitchen.com/2012/01/cream-of-barley-soup.html
And here’s a link to the page about the ‘Titanic Project’:
http://www.thedragonskitchen.com/search/label/Titanic%20Project
-JT
This week: Barley Soup!
(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)
-JT
I ate a lot of barley, rice, beans, lentils and pasta when I was young, Not because I was a vegan bot because I was Po.
Meat makes it stick with you.
My Mom makes the BEST beef, barley vegetable soup!
Sounds good. I like to add a couple of handfuls of barley to Beef Vegetable soup.
I LOVE a tomato sangwich with lettuce, mayo, salt and pepper...
But add Bacon, and a Star is born!
I like my ‘mater sangwiches with just mayo, salt, and lots of pepper.
No need to ‘gild a lily’. A BLT is something entirely different from a Tomato Sandwich.
Mmmmm ‘mater sangwich....
There’s bacon/salt pork in the ‘Titanic’ recipe at the Dragon’s Kitchen link.
My Pop was a meat and potatoes guy.
Could not abide Catsup because it contained O.N.I.O.N.S
I love Veg, onion, tomato, garlic, tomato, herbs.
He liked Lima Beans (Gakkk) and Ham though LOL
Add Flanken to the barley soup.
“Flanken is a traditional Eastern European Jewish short rib dish, and serves as the origin of flanken cut of short ribs. Flanken-cut short ribs are boiled in broth with onions and other seasonings until the meat is very tender and the broth is rich. The stew is then served with grated horseradish.”
There’s yer secret :)
Makes a pot of beans sing.
Barley is a pretty nutritious carb.
Oddly Mom does this too, she boiled the meat.
I browned it for years to develop the “fond” lol
Al Franken? LOL
I’d rather have Lutefisk! LOL
Have fun in the kitchen yall :)
On!
Ummm...you’ve always been ‘on’ (?)
Or do you mean you’re ‘here’?
(Need a stopover?)
I love that cookbook!!! I need to get mine out, it’s been awhile. I got a frozen meal for lunch(early bus duty week & need to leave @ 6:25) & I thought it was a Chinese brown rice thing, but it was barley. Very chewy & delicious.
That soup sounds wonderful.
Ummm, here? (flying to second destination for overnight).
My grandmother used to make Scotch Broth, which had barley in it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/scotchbroth_8116
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