Vegetable Barley Stew

We were recently on a trip, which I'll be blogging about in a few days, and I had the most amazing barley stew ever! Ok, it was in an Irish pub and it was called a mulligatawny, but still.....it was awesome! And I knew I had to try and reproduce it. So I did, with a few more vegetables :) So for those of you who are still in winter temperatures, this will really warm you up!

Vegetable Barley Stew:

1 1/2 cups hulled barley (aka hulless barley, NOT pearl)
4 cups vegetable broth


1 TB minced garlic
1 yellow onion, chopped
4-5 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 TB dried jalapenos
1/2 head cauliflower, broken into bite-sized pieces
1/2 zucchini, cubed
1/3 cabbage head, sliced into small pieces (not shredded, that's too small)
8 cups vegetable broth

To cook the barley, put the barley and broth into a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours or so, until cooked, but still chewy. 


While the barley is cooking, add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery to a large stockpot, along with 1/4 cup water. Heat on medium until onions are soft.  Add the broth, jalapenos, and cauliflower. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, covered. Then turn it down to medium-low and add the zucchini. Let slowly boil (covered) for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are mostly cooked, but not mushy. Add the cabbage and cook for another 3 minutes. Salt to taste. Spoon into a bowl and top with a large spoonful of barley.


*Note-you can use pearled barley, but it will take less time to cook (follow directions on the package).


Enjoy! I still have leftovers and will be eating them for dinner tonight, even though it's 80 degrees outside.


Eat smart,
T.