Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Complexity: easily
Servings: 8 - 10

This thick, warming soup is best made with mixed beans, but if you don't have any on hand, use white beans. Add them to a slow cooker along with the pearl barley, vegetables, and spices, cover with water, and simmer until the beans are tender. A few dried porcini mushrooms will add a unique flavor and aroma to the soup. Add them along with all the other ingredients, if available. Stir in the spinach and grated Parmesan cheese and serve drizzled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried mixed beans or white beans, sorted and washed
• 0.5 cups pearl barley
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• Half a medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
• 15 g dried porcini mushrooms, large ones crumbled (optional)
• 1 can (400 g) of canned whole tomatoes in their own juice
• 3 cups washed small spinach (about 100 g)
• 1/4 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan
• Balsamic vinegar to drizzle
• Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
• Special equipment: slow cooker

Substituting ingredients
Measuring containers used

1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Recipes with similar ingredients

pearl barley, white beans, porcini mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, bay leaf, Italian seasonings, Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar

We recommend

Preparation:

Step 1
• In a slow cooker, combine 6 cups of water, beans, pearl barley, garlic, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, 1.5 tablespoons of salt, mixed dried herbs, a little black pepper, and porcini mushrooms (if using). Mash the tomatoes with your hands and add them to the slow cooker along with their juices. Cover and cook over high heat until the beans are very tender and the soup has thickened, about 8 hours.
Step 2
• Add the spinach and cheese and stir until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3
• Ladle the soup into warm bowls and drizzle each serving with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

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