Cooking made easy
Let our assistant inspire your next meal!
Simply provide a recipe idea or the ingredients you have, and
ScrummyChef will instantly come up with a new recipe just for you.

Italian Bean and Barley Soup

4.0
Save
Rate
Tap to rate
PREP TIME
10 min
COOKING TIME
50 min
TOTAL TIME
125 min
SERVINGS
4 servings
Lunch Dinner Italian
Italian Bean and Barley Soup
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound pearl barley
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 ounces pancetta bacon, diced
  • 3/4 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, divided
  • water to cover
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or as desired
Instructions
1
Start by placing the barley into a bowl and submerging it in several inches of cool water; allow it to soak for 1 hour. Drain the excess liquid.
2
Next, heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced pancetta and cook until it reaches a lightly browned state, about 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the sautéed onion, carrot, and celery that you've combined with the pancetta, cooking until the vegetables are slightly tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
3
Combine half of the beans with the vegetable-pancetta mixture and pour in enough water to cover the ingredients; stir in the barley and remaining beans. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season the mixture. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 40 minutes, stirring regularly and adding more water if the soup becomes too concentrated.
4
Once the saucepan has finished simmering, remove it from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve the soup hot, garnished with fresh rosemary leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.