Italian Lentil and Barley Soup

As part of my current diet, we’re eating a lot more beans and grains (particularly quinoa and barley). One of the happy side effects of cooking with unfamiliar foods is that I end up finding great recipes on Recipezaar that I might have never tried. This is one of those recipes.

It’s a slow cooker recipe, which is convenient since I have a crock pot that I rarely use (and consequently, I also have unused-kitchen-gadget-guilt!). However, if you don’t have a slow cooker, I expect you could probably convert this to a stove top recipe pretty easily.

Italian Lentil and Barley Soup

1 cup lentils
1/3 cup pearl barley
1 cup carrots (chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
1 cup onions (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups broth
2 1/2 cups water
14 1/4 ounces Italian-style tomatoes or regular stewed tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (optional)

1. Sort through lentils to remove debris and shriveled beans, then rinse.
2. Add lentils to crock pot, along with barley, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, dried herbs and bay leaf.
3. Pour in broth, water, and tomatoes.
4. Cover and cook on low heat for 12 to 14 hours, or on high heat for 5 to 6 hours.
5. Discard bay leaf and just before serving stir in parsley and vinegar (if using).

Based on some of the previous reviews, I increased the garlic to three very large cloves. I also left out the parsley and cider vinegar, not having either on hand. My food processor made quick work of the veggies, so the active time on this recipe was very reasonable.

The result? Very tasty! Daniel loved it (and loved the fact that we had enough for several leftover lunches) and has declared this recipe a permanent addition to our recipe box.