Pearl Barley, Lentil & Veggie Soup

Start here for a nourishing go-to soup then make it you own with additions of what you love.

Hi everyone, I hope the week has begun well! The first newsletter of the month so a free recipe for everyone! If you want to get access to the weekly recipes, full archives & video masterclasses, you can upgrade to a paid subscription below. The support means the world to me and makes it sustainable to be able to continue creating and sharing the delicious recipes you and your families enjoy! You can also gift a subscription to someone. This is a fantastic and thoughtful gift for someone you know who would loves cooking or would love to cook more!

---

This Pearl Barley, Lentil & Greens Soup is a nourishing one-pan deliciousness to make ahead and have on hand for the days ahead, in fact it gets even better with flavour the next few days after making. A very veg centric dish, it’s the type of food I crave when I feel in need of extra nourishment. It’s a vegan dish as is but I love it with thick yoghurt spooned over or some rotisserie chicken or slow cooke lamb shoulder flaked through, even a couple of poached eggs are amazing to top it with.

If you are unfamiliar with pearl barley, It’s an affordable and highly nutritious whole grain that keeps a great texture to it once cooked and has a delicious nutty flavour. It’s great to add to soups, hearty salad, risotto’s and into main dishes like with a lamb shoulder, chicken or fish. Add some chopped herbs, spring onions, roasted, crushed almonds and a good squeeze of lemon and extra virgin olive oil and you have a great base for adding other things like roast veggies and some marinated feta. Fresh tomatoes, cucumber and pomegranate or sautéed mushrooms. Its versatility makes it a pantry staple.

“What curry powder do you use?” is a question I get asked a lot. I use a couple of different ones at different times and depending on where you are in the world you will have different brands available to you. As with all ground spices, freshness & quality is important so unless you using everyday, don’t go and buy a massive bag that will sit in you pantry for the next year and go stale. I love a Spice & Co butter chicken curry powder for a lot of applications and as a general all rounder thats consistently solid and i used in this recipe, I always have Keens Curry powder in the cupboard and go through a lot of it from curries to soups, marinades and Dals. I also use curry pastes, favourite is madras, in place of curry powders.

Cooked canned lentils - feel free to use a dried green lentil instead. I would soak overnight cook it separately then add it back to the soup. you can also us other cooked, tinned pulses like cannellini beans, chickpeas, kidney beans or a mix.

Pearl Barley - you can sub in another tin of lentils, a brown rice, farro, or quinoa can also work well.

Curry powder - I use Keens curry powder for this recipe but feel free to use what you have or a curry paste, like madras, can be used. If you aren’t a fan of curry or just had a tone of other spices like cumin, coriander, feel free to use them to add in some nice levels of flavour in place of the curry.

Frozen veggies - If you roll with frozen veg or only have access to some frozen veg, then this soup can be a great way to use them. Frozen green beans or a medley veg can be used in place of the fresh veggies. Frozen peas and frozen spinach are also fantastic if you want to bring them in.

Silverbeet/kale - another leafy green like spinach or Cavolo nero works well as does white cabbage - cut into thick slices, it cooks down beautifully

Other veggies - this soup is very versatile and can be a great way to cook with whats in your fridge. I like adding or substituting in other veggies like broccoli, sliced brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, diced pumpkin.

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 brown onion, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled, diced

Salt, pepper

2 cup green beans, trimmed, halved

3 clove garlic, sliced

2 tbsp good quality curry powder

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup pearl barley

2L vegetable stock/broth

½ bunch silverbeet or kale, roughly chopped

1 400g tin brown lentils, drained

To serve, 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Optional, natural yoghurt

Method

Place a large frying pan over a medium/high heat and add the olive oil, onion, carrots, with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often to soften then add green beans, garlic, curry powder and tomato paste.

Stir through and add the pearl barley and vegetable broth.

Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes then add the silverbeet and cook that for 5 more minutes to wilt and soften through the dish. Finally add the lentils and simmer everything partially covered for 10 minutes.

Adjust the seasoning to taste and if desired, more extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon and a big spoon of yoghurt if using.