Hearty Barley Soup

The cover of the Tri-City Herald's Food & Wine section March 4 will feature feature Menu Planner, a weekly feature giving seven days of dinner menus, shopping hints and tips on using leftovers from one meal in a new way later in the week. The section also includes more recipes plus buying, cooking and health tips on a variety of food-related subjects. Inside you’ll find more recipes plus buying, cooking and health tips on a variety of food-related subjects.

Hearty Barley Soup

This hearty recipe appeared for many years on the Quaker Scotch barley box. I like to add chopped garlic, a dash of Tabasco and bay leaves during the simmering to give it even more flavor. It’s great to see ancient whole grains like barley gaining popularity. Just like oats, barley can lower LDL cholesterol, prevent spikes in blood sugar and promote a feeling of fullness.

Ingredients

2 pounds meaty beef soup bones

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (16-ounce) can tomatoes

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 1

teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup pearl barley

1 cup fresh or frozen peas Instructions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown soup bones in hot oil; drain. Add 2 quarts water, the tomatoes and their juice, parsley, salt, pepper, carrots, celery, onion and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 1 hour or until meat and barley are tender. Remove bones from pot; remove meat from bones and return it to the pot, discarding bones.

Add peas, and simmer about 5 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 375 calories (53 percent from fat), 22 g fat (8 g saturated, 9 g monounsaturated), 65 mg cholesterol, 25 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 472 mg sodium.

From: Linda Cicero’s Cook’s Corner column