Trentino Barley Soup

Name: Trentino Barley Soup (Minestrone d’Orzo alla Trentina)
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1 sprig each fresh marjoram, parsley and rosemary, chopped; 1 sprig each fresh marjoram, parsley and rosemary, chopped; 1 onion, peeled and chopped; ½ teaspoon beef extract; 3½ pints (2 litres) cold water; 8 oz (225 g) pearl barley; 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; 1 very large carrot, scraped and cut into chunks; salt; 1 very meaty ham bone; 1 very large potato, peeled and cut into chunks; 1 sprig each fresh marjoram, parsley and rosemary, chopped; 5 tablespoons olive oil

Minestrone d’Orzo alla Trentina

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Italian Regional Cookery

By Valentina Harris

Published 1990

About

Barley is used extensively in the cooking of the Trentino region and this rich soup is cooked in various ways all over the region. Like most of the local dishes, it is designed for cold, snowy weather and for feeding large appetites, further sharpened by outdoor activities.

Ingredients

8 oz (225 g) pearl barley
3½ pints (2

Europe
Italy
Trentino
Soup

Method

Wash the barley, put it into a pan and cover with cold water, bring to the boil and add the beef extract. Cook slowly, uncovered, for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, fry the onion and the herbs in the olive oil for 5–6 minutes, then stir this into the barley. Add the ham bone, potato, carrot and a little salt and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the ham bone and transfer the soup to a warmed tureen. S