Barley Soup with Red Pesto

Barley is seldom used here for cooking in Germany any longer. The grain has the "poor people food" vibe. It is only suitable for beer.

I buy mine at the Polish supermarket. It is in cooking bags that go in salted water for 15 min. Then you fish them out and drain the bag and pour it in a bowl, ready to eat.

I used it for my soup. From my Cheeseburger style Rigatoni dish, I had some cooked mixed ground pork/beef in the fridge. Veggies and vegstock paste too.

A lot of fresh herbs to add from my balcony. That all together made a tasty soup.

I had an open jar of red pesto in the fridge. But discovered that it had some mold on the upper side. Luckily, my BFF gave me a jar from an Italian supermarket at Easter. That came in handy and was a lot better quality then the stuff I had.

Ingredients for 2:

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

50 g small rolled barley

200 g cooked meat

650 ml hot water with vegstock paste

2 smaller tomatoes

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 green onion

1 bay leaf

Lovage, rosemary, oregano, parsley, chives

Salt, pepper

Red pesto

Cook the bag with barley in salted water first. Drain and clean the pot to use for the soup.

Chop all veggies and put the harder ones in the hot oil first. Season with salt and pepper and give them 5 min. Add stock and quartered tomatoes. Chuck in the herbs and the bay leaf.

Cook for 10 min.

Add cooked meat and the cooked barkey. Cook 5 more min. Add fresh parsley.

Serve with a dollop of red pesto.