Originally posted by Modern-Day Ma on January 16, 2019
January is for soups! Healthy, warm, and nourishing soup is a great way to get dinner on the table in a flash-especially when you utilize the electric pressure cooker! (I own both the Cuisinart and Fagor brands and would recommend both as well as the Instant Pot brand).
If you would rather cook this on the stovetop, allow yourself an hour to simmer the barley and then add the veggies and simmer until tender. An hour and twenty minutes should be plenty to take the soup from beginning to end on the stovetop. The pressure cooker should have everything done in less than 30 minutes.
We always serve this with my homemade pesto to drizzle over the top (we freeze it in quantity for the winter), but you could certainly use store-bought pesto or a simple mixture of chopped basil or parsley mixed with olive oil and salt, or just some grated Parmesan cheese.
This recipe makes a BIG BATCH. You’ll want to cut it in half if you have a smaller family or fewer hungry bellies. Or go ahead and make the whole thing and freeze individual portions for future lunches and dinners.
Vegetable Barley Soup
10 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cups chopped vegetables, fresh or frozen (celery, carrots, green beans, etc.)
2 cups frozen corn kernels
2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley or 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup frozen green peas
1 15-oz can small white beans or cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed
Rinse barley and place in electric pressure cooker with chicken stock, bay leaf, and olive oil.
Cook at high pressure 25 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for a minute and then perform a quick release.
Add garlic, onion, chopped vegetables, corn, salt, pepper and dried parsley (if using fresh, stir it in just before serving). Do NOT add peas or white beans yet. Cook at high pressure 2 minutes and quick release pressure. You may need to allow a minute of natural release to avoid splattering.
Stir in peas and white beans and stir until heated through. You may want to use the “brown” or “simmer” function to return the soup to a boil just before serving, but I find that the peas and beans cool it down just enough to be ready to serve.
Serve with pesto at the table.
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