Barley soup

🥣 Barley Soup Valtellinese with Vegetables and Bacon

A complete, nutritious, and traditional first course: perfect for facing the cold mountain days 🍲🥓⛰️

Introduction

The barley soup is a rich and genuine dish from alpine cuisine, widespread throughout Valtellina and loved for its warming and filling properties.
Prepared with pearl barley, fresh vegetables, and smoked bacon, it is a soup that smells of tradition and was often cooked in mountain huts during winter.
Perfect as a single dish, it is ideal for those seeking healthy, rustic, and flavorful cuisine. 🫶

📝 Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 350 g of pearl barley
• 100 g of smoked bacon (in one slice)
• 3 potatoes
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 1 onion
• 1 piece of leek
• Butter to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• At least 2 liters of water

👩‍🍳 Step-by-step Preparation

1. Wash and clean all the vegetables, then cut them into regular pieces.
2. Bring at least 2 liters of water to a boil in a large pot.
3. In a saucepan, sauté in butter:
   • the bacon cut into strips,
   • the chopped onion,
   • and a piece of leek.
4. Add the pearl barley and sauté for a few minutes.
5. Pour the boiling water into the saucepan with the barley.
6. Add all the chopped vegetables and mix well.
7. Cook the soup on low heat for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
8. At the end of cooking, adjust salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve the soup hot, accompanied, if you like, by a sprinkle of aged cheese.

🍽️ Perfect for…

• A complete meal during the cold months
• Those who love farmhouse and natural cuisine
• Being prepared in advance: it's also great the next day!

The image of the dishes is purely indicative and does not necessarily correspond exactly to the recipe