"Damsel in dis Dress" > wrote in message
...
> "Chris Neidecker" >, if that's their real name,
> wrote:
>
>> I will be eating a lot of lentil & barley
>>soup this week while my hubby is away in Canada this week (it's not that
>>he
>>doesn't like it -- just that it's so darn good I'm going to eat it all up
>>on
>>him while he's gone so I don't have to share!).
>
> Do you have a recipe, or do you make it by the dump method?
>


Carol, most of the food I make by the dump method turns out pretty well,
except for soup...I make HORRID soup unless I follow a recipe. I tweaked
this one by adding bok choy instead of swiss chard (nothing against chard, I
just couldn't find it), and by adding a squeeze of fresh lemon at serving
time. I also simmered it a bit longer than the recipe states. It's lighter
than plain old lentil soup, with a nice bit of chew from the barley. Here
'tis; it's from the Feb. '05 Bon Appetit:

Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled carrots
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
10 cups (or more) low-salt chicken or vegetable broth
2/3 cup pearl barley
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2/3 cup dried lentils
4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard (about 1/2 large bunch)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill


Heat oil in heavy large nonreactive pot over medium-high heat. Add onions
and carrots; sauté until onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add
garlic and stir 1 minute. Mix in cumin; stir 30 seconds. Add 10 cups broth
and barley; bring to boil. Reduce heat; partially cover and simmer 25
minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice and lentils; cover and simmer until
barley and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add chard to soup; cover and simmer until chard is tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in dill. Season soup with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth, if
desired.


Makes 10 first-course or 6 main-course servings.
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