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vegetable soup with split peas and barley
Yesterday was a cool, crisp day. I began by putting on my bathrobe and shutting all the windows. It seemed like a good day for making soup. Especially as Dom was gone to a meeting and I wasn’t sure when he’d be home for dinner. Soup is nice because you can just turn the burner to low and it’s hot and waiting whenever you’re ready to eat. And it comes together pretty quickly, which is good when you have a fussy baby needing attention.
This recipe is my own interpretation, borrowed bits and pieces from two recipes fused together with a few innovations of my own. I think it came out rather well. And Dom gave it a rave review.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried split peas
3/4 cup pearled barley
1 cup cubed ham steak
1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, finely sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons herbs de Provence
Directions:
Rinse peas and barley in collander. Drain and set aside.
In large pot heat olive oil on medium-high. Saute onions, carrots and celery until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add ham and cook, stirring until it begins to brown. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown. Add red pepper flakes, peas and barley and cook, stirring, for two minutes.
Add broth, bay leaves, and herbs (put herbs in tea ball for easy extraction; otherwise bind them up in cheesecloth). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about an hour or until peas are soft.
Remove bay leaves and tea ball with herbs. Puree about four cups of the soup in blender and stir puree into pot to thicken soup. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with a dash of sherry in each bowl as a brightener. You could also add a dollop of sour cream.
This would go well with a nice loaf of crusty bread and a green salad. Sadly, last night we had neither; but we enjoyed the soup nonetheless.
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