Tonight, I had planned on making this soup. However, I felt extremely lazy today and decided to put off grocery shopping until tomorrow. I thought I would stop on my way back from work instead of making a special trip today. Now I just know that I will regret this tomorrow, but it’s a decision that made me feel very good today, so I guess I will have to deal with the consequences…

Part of said consequences was that I didn’t have all the ingredients that I needed for tonight’s soup, so I had to adapt it a little. Really. I only had to make very small adjustments. For instance, I didn’t have any canned tomatoes. So I used fresh tomatoes and V8 instead. I didn’t have any swiss chards, but I had broccoli. That worked beautifully. Not enough carrots? Not a problem. I added celery.

I think it was a huge success, well, with me anyway. My son had a bite, right out of the pot, grabbed a V8 and left. “I take it you don’t like it” I said. “I had a late lunch” was his answer…

So I have some leftover… anyone interested?

Ingredients
(serves 3-4)

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 small onions, diced
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 1 celery rib, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp salted herbs
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup barley
  • ½ cup du Puy lentils
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 cup V8
  • 2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup broccoli florets
  • ¼ cup flat parsley, chopped

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil in a large pot, add onions, carrot and celery. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until golden. Add garlic, salted herbs, cumin, pepper and barley. Stir to combine. Add water.
  • Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partly cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.
  • Add lentils, v8 and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until lentils are tender.
  • Toss in broccoli and parsley. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, until broccoli is tender and serve.