As the weather begins to turn I find myself craving more hearty dishes such as this vegetable soup with pearl barley. It's based upon one that my gran used to make for me when I was little, and I used to love the little grains of barley in it. If you've never tried pearl barley I'd urge you to give it a try! They're cheap and really tasty.
Begin by finely chopping the veg. This can be anything you have to hand really. Here I used 2 sticks of celery, 2 or 3 potatoes, a carrot and a couple of courgettes. But I imagine parsnip, celeriac or even Jerusalem artichoke would be great in it too.
Heat some olive oil in a large pot. Add all the chopped vegetables, sweat for a few minutes until they start to soften and turn translucent and then pour in enough hot stock to cover. Bring to a simmer and add a cupful of barley. On the packet it said that the barley would take up to an hour to cook, but it was done in about 30 mins when I made this. Just keep tasting and it's ready as soon as the grains are done. If you fancy, add some sliced cabbage for the last 5 mins.
Finish off with some chopped dill at the very last minute and serve with some crusty bread and butter! Lovely!