Ingredients
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1 cup pearl barley, uncooked
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8 cups chicken stock
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2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
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1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
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2 leeks, finely chopped
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3/4 cup peas
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4 garlic cloves, crushed
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1 chicken stock cube (or other preferred seasoning)
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salt and pepper, to taste
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1 large potato, peeled and finely chopped
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1 large parsnip, peeled and finely chopped
Instructions
- Rinse the pearl barley in water. You may need to soak it if the package directions recommend it. Otherwise try to find a "no-soak" variety.
- Put the pearl barley and chicken stock in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Skim off any scum.
- Stir in all the vegetables from carrots to garlic. Crumble in the stock cube (I use this purely to add flavour- you could use another seasoning mix).
- Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. The vegetables should be covered by enough liquid throughout- add more stock or water if they are not.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick for your liking, stir in a small amount of water or milk.
- Serve hot and enjoy!