You need to eat this soup right away as the barley will continue to absorb the liquid and can get bloated. I made this mistake so I had to adjust the ingredients.

• 1 large yellow onion, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• I added 1/2 of a zucchini, diced
• Next time I will also add a carrot, diced
• 1-1/4 cups pearl barley which is a processed grain
• 1/2 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes (due to the expansion of the pearl barley I ended up using 24 oz. of tomatoes)
• 2 garlic cloves, (minced)
• 2-1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1-1/2 tsp. fine sea salt (to taste)
• (pepper to taste)
• 5 cups vegetable stock, or water (I ended up adding 4 more cups of water/stock)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander (I added)
• 1 bay leaf (I added)
• fresh thyme to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and zucchini, cover the pan, and cook stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 7 minutes. The author did suggest vegetables and protein could be added if desired.

I chose to rinse the barley first with cold water and then drained it for a few minutes.

Add the pearl barley, canned tomatoes, garlic, sweet paprika, salt and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 45 minutes or until the barley is fully cooked. Extra water might be needed to achieve a good soup consistency.

Stir in the dried thyme, taste, and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve immediately with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a couple of fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.

Will keep in the refrigerator for a few days (remember, the grain will absorb the liquid) or freeze. You could try and separate the pearl barley and vegetables from the liquid if refrigerating.

Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com