Description
A hearty and filling Italian soup packed with vegetables, pancetta, cannellini beans, and pearl barley.
Ingredients
- ½ pound pearl barley
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 ounces pancetta bacon, diced
- ¾ 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
- Place barley into a bowl and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand for 1 hour. Drain.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until slightly crisp
- about 3 or 4 minutes. Stir onion
- carrot
- and celery into pancetta and cook until vegetables are slightly softened
- 2 to 3 minutes.
- Mix half of the beans into vegetable-pancetta mixture and pour in enough water to cover; stir in barley and remaining beans. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Bring liquid to a boil
- reduce heat to medium-low
- and simmer for 40 minutes
- stirring regularly and adding more water if soup gets too thick.
- Remove saucepan from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Serve soup with rosemary leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 4