Bowl of Barley Soup with Sausages
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Barley Soup with Sausages


Germany   -   Groupensuppe
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 qt
***
8 hrs
Yes		 This is a fairly light stew or soup (depending on how much liquid you add), but flavorful, substantial and very satisfying. It is easy to make and can be made ahead.

6
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5
5
5
5
1
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12
3
1
4
8
1/8
1/2
1/2
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oz
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oz
oz
oz
oz
t
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oz
oz
c
T
c
t
T
t
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Onion
-- veg mix
Potato (1)
Carrots
Celery Root
Leek
Marjoram, dry  
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Sausages (2)
Bacon
Barley (3)
Butter
Stock (4)
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
-- Garnish
Parsley
Prep   -   (20)
  1. Chop ONION fine.
  2. Peel POTATOES and chop fine. Hold in cold water until needed.
  3. Chop CARROTS, CELERY ROOT and LEEK fine. Mix all with Marjoram.
  4. Slice BACON about 1/8 inch thick and cut into small pieces.
  5. Rinse BARLEY and drain well.
Run   -   (1-1/4 hrs)
  1. In a heavy bottomed pot of at least 5 quarts, melt Butter and fry Onions until translucent.
  2. Stir in Barley and fry stirring over moderate heat until lightly toasted, 4 to 5 minutes depending on how wet the barley is. There should be barely any browning and no blackening of the onions.
  3. Drain Potatoes and stir in along with the Vegetable mix, Sausages (whole) and Bacon. Stir in Stock and simmer until Barley is tender. Stir frequently, making sure the barley doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. This may take as little as 45 minutes for heavily pearled barley, but it takes 1-1/4 hours for the lightly pearled barley I use.
  4. Season with Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper.
  5. Pull out Sausages and cut them into appropriate size pieces. Depending on size you may have to cut them lengthwise in half or quarters. Then cut crosswise about 1/4 inch thick. Return them to the soup.
  6. Chop Parsley for garnish.
  7. Serve hot, garnished with Parsley (see also Note-5). For buffet service just stir the Parsley in just before setting out.
NOTES:

  1. Potatoes:

      Russets work fine here as they are basically a thickener and should dissolve in the soup. For details see our Potatoes page.

  2. Sausage:

      A fairly mild sausage such as Bratwurst works well here. For details see our Sausage page.

  3. Barley:

      I use a relatively lightly pearled barley (it still has a shade of color) as it maintains a better texture and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, a real problem with heavily pearled barley.

  4. Stock:

      Chicken stock is most used, but pork stock will also work fine. The pattern recipe suggests Vegetable stock as an alternate, but what's the point when you have sausages and bacon in the mix?

  5. Serving:

      The pattern recipe served the broth in a bowl, and the sausages and parsley as garnishes. This is nice for table service, but impractical for buffet service, just mix the sausages back in. Stir in the parsley just before pouring it into a slow cooker set to "keep warm". The pattern recipe also put the bacon in as one piece, and discarded it before serving. I don't see the point in this.

  6. Do Ahead:

      Barley will keep absorbing water for quite some time. When doing ahead, cook until barley is just tender enough, cool, and refrigerate until needed. When used, bring it back to a simmer, adding water or stock as needed, and stirring often to make sure the barley doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Make sure it is liquid enough and pour it into a slow cooker set to "keep warm" for service.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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