Name: Old Fashioned Vegetable Pot Barley Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp of olive oil; 1 large yellow onion finely diced; 1/2 cup of pot barley rinsed under cold water; 5 cups of vegetable broth or sub for 5 cups of water with 2 heaping tbsp of Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base; 3 cups of water; 1 bay leaf; 3 carrots peeled and chopped; 2 large potatoes chopped (peeling optional); 1 tsp of red pepper chilli flakes; 2 tsp of ground black pepper; 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tbsp of Old Bay; 1 cup of roughly chopped green cabbage; 1/2 cup of fresh chopped dill; 4 cloves of crushed garlic; Salt and pepper to taste

Description

A traditional vegetable pot barley soup packed with flavour and completely vegan.

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 tbsp of olive oil
1 large yellow onion finely diced
1/2 cup of pot barley rinsed under cold water
5 cups of vegetable broth or sub for 5 cups of water with 2 heaping tbsp of Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base
3 cups of water
1 bay leaf
3 carrots peeled and chopped
2 large potatoes chopped (peeling optional)
1 tsp of red pepper chilli flakes
2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of Old Bay
1 cup of roughly chopped green cabbage
1/2 cup of fresh chopped dill
4 cloves of crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

In a large soup pot, add olive oil and chopped onion. Let simmer over medium-high heat until onion is fragrant and translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
Add in rinsed pot barley, vegetable broth, water and bay leaf. Stir and cover for 20 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure pot doesn’t boil over. You want to pre-cook your barley before adding in the vegetables so all ingredients are the same texture and tenderness.
Once barley is pre-cooked, add in carrots, potatoes, red pepper chilli flakes, black pepper, cayenne and Old Bay. Stir and let simmer over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 20-25 minutes of simmering, vegetables and barley should be fully cooked. The barley will have absorbed about 1/3 of the liquid. Remove a small amount of barley to sample. It should be soft but still chewy. If needed, simmer for another 5-10 minutes to cook more.
Reduce heat to low and add in cabbage, dill, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Let cabbage cook down for 3-5 minutes.
Garnish with additional fresh dill, salt and pepper.

Serve with sourdough bread and enjoy!

Notes

If using pearl barley instead of pot barley, reduce cooking time to a total of only 35 minutes. Eliminate the pre-cooking and add vegetables and barley to the pot at once to cook together.
This is a fairly spicy soup. If serving to kids (or adults who don’t like spice), omit the cayenne and red pepper chilli flakes.
The fresh dill really brightens the flavours in this soup. However other fresh herbs that would pair well include fresh parsley or thyme.