The first time I made this soup was back in my days as a single Mom. I needed meals that would be good for my kids but didn't cost much. Being newly divorced with two little ones, I had to watch the spending and the lady across the hall from me made this once a week. I could smell it and my goodness did the hall smell good when she cooked it! So I asked her for the recipe.
It was funny because she told me she got her spices from a local Italian restaurant (the herbs) when they planned to toss them into the dumpster they would call and offer them to her.
"The sprigs of rosemary are easy to find," she told me. "Just go look out in front of the building. Someone planted rosemary there!"
Thrifty and healthy, my kids loved this soup in the fall and winter and there was enough for a couple of meals for the three of us, too!
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped Yukon gold potato
- 1/2 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed, drained
- 1/4 cup instant barley
- 8 cups low low-sodium chicken, beef or vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pour the broth into a large Dutch oven
- Add the lentils and cook until the lentils are soft and plumped up
- Let the soup cool a little and place 1/2 into a blender and blend until smooth; return to the pot.
- Add in the carrots, onion and barley
- Cook on a low boil until the barley is tender
- Add in the potato and cook for another few minutes until softened
- Add in the spices and cook on a low boil for another 10 minutes
- Remove the sprig stems
[Note: the extra water is only used if needed]
Serve with some crusty bread and a drizzle of EVOO!