Ingredients
- 1 cup pearl barley, uncooked
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 leeks, finely chopped
- 1 large potato, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 large parsnip, peeled and finely chopped
- 3/4 cup peas
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 chicken stock cube (or other preferred seasoning)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
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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.
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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.
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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).
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Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. The vegetables should be covered by enough liquid throughout- add more stock or water if they are not.
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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.
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Serve hot and enjoy!