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| Parsley Root being pulled out of the soup pot, July 8, 2011. Photo courtesy Daniel Marlos. |
Barley Sauerkraut Soup
By Daniel Marlos
When you are digging things out of the garden, make sure you don’t let a good thing go to waste, like a parsley root. Parsley is related to the carrot, and the root of the Parsley plant emparts a flavor to soup that cannot be duplicated with any substitute. Not having a Parsley root should not stop you from cooking this soup.
I made up this recipe today because of what I had in the garden and kitchen. In addition to the parsley, there were carrots and tomatoes ready to use. The sauerkraut was homemade this winter and it is in a small covered bowl in the refrigerator. Don’t forget to skim the top off the sauerkraut water before removing the sauerkraut from its crock.
Ingredients:
- 4 quarts water (2 quarts to soak the barley and 2 quarts to skin the tomatoes)
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ribs of celery chopped coarsely
- 8 small carrots cut into slices
- ½ large onion chopped
- a parsley root
- black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups sauerkraut
- 2 handfuls of ripe tomatoes
Instructions:
- Soak the barley in 2 quarts of water for at least 20 minutes.
- Add celery, carrots, onion, a parsley root and black pepper and cook about a half an hour.
- Chop the undrained sauerkraut.
- Add sauerkraut to soup and continue to cook over medium-low heat.
- While the soup cooks, bring 2 cups of water to boil in the medium sauce pan (enough to cover the tomatoes).
- Gently place tomatoes in water for as long as it takes for the skin to split (the time will depend on the variety of tomato, it's size, and ripeness).
- Remove tomatoes from pan. Peel them and puree in a blender or food processor and add pureed tomatoes to the soup.
- Continue to cook until the barley is tender.
- Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
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| A bowl of Barley Sauerkraut Soup. Photo courtesy Daniel Marlos, 2011. |
