Recipe: Split Pea & Barley Soup Dried Beans vs. Canned Beans

[Guest guest]

> I freeze beans in baggies and grab for my lunch all the time.

> I make all my beans from scratch but the canned are good too.

 

Boy, do we ever get along... I make all my beans from scratch, too,

only keeping the canned on hand for when I need a quick meal! (Our

Publix grocery now has their own brand of organic beans, still twice

the price of conventional, but they're good!)

 

Here's my split pea soup. I never had it with barley before, and it

was good... you said your recipe had barley in it too, so it's

probably very similar.

 

Split Pea and Barley Soup

16 oz green or yellow split peas

1/2 pearl barley

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 tsp salt-free herb-and-spice seasoning mix

salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

 

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large soup pot with 8 cups

water. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for an hour.

 

2. STir in 2 cups of water, simmer until the peas are completely

mushy, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve, or

cover and let stand off the heat for an hour or so before serving.

Thin with water and correct seasonings as needed.

 

From " The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet " by Nava Atlas

 

I used purple hull-less barley, not pearled, and used 8 1/2 cups of

water - cooked in a pressure cooker about 45 minutes (just left it

while waiting on DH to get home). I didn't really read the

directions, so I forgot to thin it in step 2, but I think because a

pressure cooker doesn't lose as much water via steam, it worked out

fine. AS always, the next day it had thickened considerably and

needed thinning... but this makes it even more economical! :-)

 

*hugs*

Amy/C

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

 

This sounds great. Regarding barley, though, I'm guessing this is a typo:

 

On 5/13/05, Amy <sandpiperhiker wrote:

> 1/2 pearl barley

 

I've never bought barley before, so I don't really know how you buy

it...is it a grain? I'm just wondering if you meant " 1/2 cup " or if

barley was a vegetable, like an onion, then what size is good.

 

Sorry if this is a silly question!

Andrew

[Guest guest]

Barley is a grain...kind of rice-y-ish. In a

supermarket they sell pearl barley in the same area

they have the dried beans.

 

I love barley. It has a chewy texture.

 

Jen

 

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