Soup with the Simons: Sunday barley vegetable soup
By Tali Simon | December 4, 2011
A little Q & A.
Question: If you serve Sunday barley vegetable soup on a day other than Sunday, does it still count?
Answer: I don’t know, but I’m sure not going to risk it.
(Notice, please, that I am blogging about this on a Sunday, too. I take my soups seriously.)
This one is wonderful for several reasons. It tastes good (make that great), of course, especially on a cold night like the ones we’re having. When the temperature changes on me, I find myself needing soup. Lots and lots of soup.
Then there’s the thing about how easy it is to throw together. No sauteing, no roasting, no nothing. Boil, chop, get everything in the pot. Ta-da! Dinner!
I also love it because it’s so filling, thanks mostly to the barley and potatoes. Serve some salad, too, if you like, but the truth is that I could be satisfied with the soup alone.
Just remember to make it on a Sunday, and everything else will fall into place.
Ingredients Directions 1. Pour 10 cups of boiling water in a large pot. (I heat the water in my kumkum, electric kettle, though of course you could also just bring the pot to boil on the stove…if you have all day.) Add barley and cook on high, uncovered, for 5 minutes. 2. Skim off white foam and add vegetables, soup mix, and salt and pepper. 3. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. At this point, you can either blend completely, not at all, or partially. I like to use my immersion blender just enough to get a creamy base, while still leaving plenty of veggie pieces whole. Serve hot.
Based on Gatherings
13 Comments
T on December 4, 2011 at 5:29 pm.
How many does this serve?
Tali Simon on December 4, 2011 at 6:05 pm.
My husband and I each had a few bowls for dinner (I’d guess I had two and he had three), and then finished it for lunch the next day. If a serving is one bowl, I’d say it will give you about 8.
T on December 4, 2011 at 6:27 pm.
sorry for all the questions, i have only one more – how do you reheat it? microwave or stovetop?
Tali Simon on December 4, 2011 at 6:34 pm.
Questions are always welcome! I always reheat on the stove, but then again, we don’t actually have a microwave.
You should be fine either way.
Malka on December 4, 2011 at 7:10 pm.
i love this soup! i made it last wed, and it worked out just fine. I actually cut the recipe in half and we still had around 7 bowls, two each at night, one each for lunch the next day, and one and a half in the freezer for when i feel like serving a soup bar. did you add more water at the end like the book said to?
Tali Simon on December 4, 2011 at 7:41 pm.
Seven bowls from half the recipe? It sounds like my bowls could eat your bowls for breakfast.
I generally don’t add more water because I like my soups on the thick side, and 10 cups here was plenty for me.
Malka on December 4, 2011 at 7:51 pm.
lol! next time you come i’ll show you. my bowls are huge. i think the extra water is because the barley soaks up a lot of it when it cooks — making the very thick soup. i that explains the discrepancy. my soup was less thick, i also didn’t puree it, but still very filling.
Aaron on December 5, 2011 at 12:59 pm.
What are we having for dinner tonight?
Tali Simon on December 5, 2011 at 2:48 pm.
How about Monday barley vegetable soup?
T on December 7, 2011 at 5:31 am.
I LOVED this soup!!! it was sooo easy and yummy
it was the 2nd recipe i tried from your blog and i was very happy. can’t wait for some more good ones!
Tali Simon on December 7, 2011 at 1:41 pm.
So glad! More coming all the time!
Yiska Ben Avraham on November 19, 2012 at 11:45 am.
This might sound silly, but why do you peel the zucchinis?
Tali Simon on November 19, 2012 at 12:32 pm.
I peel them for the same reason that I peel the potatoes and carrots, because I want everything in the soup to be smooth and soft, especially so it blends well.