Vegetable Soup with Barley

Name: Vegetable Soup with Barley
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 1 tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 celery sticks, diced; 1 onion, diced; 1 carrot, diced; 1 small leek, trimmed and diced; 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme; 50 g (2 oz) rindless streaky bacon, diced (optional); 1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable or chicken stock; 1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable or chicken stock; 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; crusty bread, to serve (optional); 50 g (2 oz) pearl barley

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Nation's Favourite Food

By Neven Maguire

Published 2013

About

To me, this soup is the closest thing you’ll get to a hug in a bowl. It’s my mother’s recipe and something she always made for me when I was little. I now make it for Amelda when she’s feeling under the weather.

Ingredients

50 g (2 oz) pearl barley
1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Europe
Ireland
Soup
Vegan

Method

Place the pearl barley in a sieve and rinse well under cold running water.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large pan over a medium heat and stir in the celery, onion, carrot, leek and thyme. Add the bacon, if using, and sauté for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are softened and the bacon is sizzling.

Pour in the stock, add the rinsed barley and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat