Vegetable Barley Stew

This weekend we drove up north to visit with Mike’s family and to celebrate our birthdays. It was a great weekend – with even greater food. His mom’s baking is out of this world – so clearly, I had to feast on my favourite peach pie, raspberry birthday cake, and pull-apart cinnamon buns. I was weak and ate multiple servings of each (not the time to be worried about counting calories). Furthermore, to my surprise I received the neatest birthday gift – a handmade apron with my website on it!! I thought you guys would like to check it out so I posted a little picture. A big thank-you to Sandy and Bob for making it, and of course Alex for having to try it on so many times to make sure it fit just right.

So now that I am more appropriately decked out for the kitchen, let’s get cooking.

Now I know this recipe might not be the first thing you would want to make during the heat of summer, so why not save it for a couple months? I was aiming to use up the various produce I purchased at the farmer’s market – and to be honest, sometimes I just crave a good soup. Or is this a stew? Stoup? I turned out thicker than expected.

The original idea to do a soup came from a Mario Batali recipe, posted on the Food Network. Although, ultimately this soup became a huge departure from the original – I thought I would still post his for reference. You can really use any ingredients you have on hand and change up the vegetables if you like. Just don’t forget the leeks – they add a great flavour and I just love using them in soups. Lastly, top it off with a big drizzle of basil oil and shavings of fresh parmesan to kick things up a bit.

Vegetable Barley Stew:
Note: This could easily be made vegan by replacing the butter and parmesan with alternative ingredients. Also this recipe could be halved, as it does make a large pot. Remember to use what you have on hand.

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
1 cup onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 leeks, quartered length-wise, sliced, and soaked in the sink to remove any sand
¾ cup pearled barley, rinsed
2 cups barlotti beans (Roman beans)
3 T tomato paste
Kosher salt
Pepper
8 cups vegetable broth (preferably homemade, or a good quality organic store bought version)
1 ½ cups potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 cup frozen peas

Basil Oil:
1 cup basil
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil and butter on high in a large pot. Add your onion, celery, and leeks. They will give off quite a bit of water, so keep the heat high and stir until golden. Stir in the tomato paste, beans, and barley. Season to your taste with salt and pepper, and add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and lower the heat until simmering, for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, toss the basil and garlic in a food processor and slowly add the oil. The goal is to form almost a pesto-like consistency (you may or may not need more olive oil), and set aside.

Add the potatoes, peas and carrots to the pot and simmer again for 20 minutes or until just almost tender. In the last 10 minutes toss in your zucchini, and add more broth or water if the soup is getting too dry.

Serve with nice drizzles of basil oil and big shavings of parmesan.