Tomato and Barley Soup

GaylaV's Note:

I have adapted this recipe from one that I found on allrecipes.com by Nancy Olsen. It is so healthy, Weight Watcher friendly and tastes great. You can substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth if you want vegetarian.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 cup onion (diced)
• 1 cup carrot (diced)
• 1 cup celery (diced)
• 2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup pearl barley
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (I like to give them a whirl in the food processor)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot.
2. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are starting to soften.
3. While they are cooking pour the barley into a dish with water to cover.
4. Add the tomatoes, broth, water, bay leaf, and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
5. Drain the barley and add to the pot.
6. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil for about 45 minutes (until the barley is tender).
7. Add more water or broth if it thickens too much.

Reviews

[CarrolJ]

This is a pretty good soup. The only thing I added was about a half pound of cooked lean ground beef and some kitchen bouquet for a more brown color. The only thing I wasn't real fond of was that it did have a bit of an acidic taste to it that I kept trying to correct...I wondered if it had a potato or two in it if the flavors would have been blended more. Made for ZWT #6 - 2010

[Sarah_Jayne]

We are big fans of barley soups and this is a very good barley soup. It was very filling and warming which was perfect for a cold almost summer's night in London. The only changes I made were to go for the vegetable stock because it was what I had and to skip the oil and use a cooking spray instead to lower the fat of the soup to next to nothing. Made for ZWT4.

[JVernel]

Excellent soup. Low calorie and easy to prepare with on hand ingredients. I added a can of black beans as recommended by a previous reviewer.