Barley and Potato Soup

This hearty soup was thrown together using ingredients that I had on hand in the kitchen.  After making beef stock, I sauteed some onions and carrots.  I then added a cup of barley along with enough beef stock to cover everything. 

I still had a handful of tiny potatoes left from the farm (volunteers and employees were allowed to take whatever they wanted of the potatoes that were too small to be sold at market) so I chopped them in half or quarters and tossed them in the soup after the barley had begun to soften.

I simmered the soup until the barley was soft but still chewy.  In my experience working with barley you can eat it after it cooks for about half an hour or let it simmer all day.  The longer you cook it the softer it will be so depending on how you prefer it you may want to hold off on adding the carrots and potatoes so they don't turn to mush before your barley is ready.

The result was something between a soup and a stew that was delicious that night and also reheated well for lunches later in the week.