italian lentil and barley soup

🥘 Ingredients

• • lentils
• • pearl barley
• • carrot
• • celery
• • onion
• • garlic cloves
• • dried basil
• • dried oregano
• • dried thyme
• • bay leaf
• • broth
• • water
• • italian-style tomatoes
• • fresh parsley
• • cider vinegar

📝 Instructions

1. 1 sort through lentils to remove debris and shriveled beans , then rinse
2. 2 add lentils to crock pot , along with barley , carrots , celery , onion , garlic , dried herbs and bay leaf
3. 3 pour in broth , water , and tomatoes
4. 4 cover and cook on low heat for 12 to 14 hours , or on high heat for 5 to 6 hours
5. 5 discard bay leaf and just before serving stir in parsley and vinegar
6. 6 lentils aren't like dried beans
7. 7 they don't require soaking and cook pretty quickly when you do it right
8. 8 when you buy your lentils , go somewhere that has a decent turnover so your lentils haven't been sitting on the shelf for years
9. 9 also , don't add any additional salt to the soup while it is cooking , and don't add lentils to already boiling water as either one can make lentils tough