Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup


I've missed a couple of months for the No Croutons Required event, but I'm back with a delicious soup! The theme this month is soups or salads featuring legumes. When I make soup, I like having a good variety of vegetables, a grain (like barley), and protein (beans usually). I was very anti-bean before but since I started to try and eat healthier and take better care of myself, I've been slowly accepting them and trying to incorporate them into my diet frequently. Soups are a great way to do that! And what bean is more accessible than the black bean (in my mind anyway).


Well since I love beets, and this soup is a meal in itself, you can guess that I loved it. I've never used tarragon in my cooking at home, and have only had it a few times when out. I like it but it's something different to get used to. I think this soup could benefit from a variety of herbs, and it actually calls for 1/2 cup of fresh dill. Which is a lot of dill, even though I love dill - so I put that as optional in the recipe.


I thought I'd have more time to update my blog now that school is finished but it turns out I've found many other things (including work) to fill up all my time! Currently I'm looking for an apartment and obsessing over places. I hope the place we find has a relatively decent size kitchen with some counter space! I can't wait to try out my grandma's convection oven for baking (which is currently in storage but will be taken out when I move).

Other soups I've made:
Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup
Baked Bean Soup
Corn Chowder
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried tarragon
Black pepper
8 cups water
4 medium-size beets, cut in half & half again, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup pot barley
2 tbsp soy sauce
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dill (optional)

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, and pepper; saute until fragrant (about a minute). Add 8 cups of water, the beets, barley, and soy sauce, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the beans and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the barley from sticking together, or unitl the barley is tender. Add the balsamic vinegar. Add dill if desired.

23 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

That soup is a fabulous way to get back into "No Croutons Required" - it's perfect for beet-lovers, indeed!! :0)

Deborah said...

What a different soup recipe! It sounds so interesting - I'll have to try it out even though I'm not a big tarragon fan.

Good luck finding an apartment!

Kuveetha said...

I can't wait to eat in your restaurant!!!! I just look here and drool... seriously! =) Miss you!

Anonymous said...

Sounds delicious--and love the colors! I need to increase my bean intake as well--and happen to LOVE dill--so I'm definitely bookmarking this one!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

This is soup is the most beautiful color! Good luck apartment hunting!

Peabody said...

The color is fantastic.

Lisa Turner said...

Just beautiful!! In every single way. Some of my very favorite flavours come together in this soup. Sold! I'm making this. Oh, yes I am. Thank you!!

Did you forget to email us? I don't see an email in our inbox regarding this most excellent submission.

Anonymous said...

While I'm really not fond of beets, I have to admit that this soup looks pretty damn good. I certainly wouldn't refuse if I had the opportunity to give it a taste!

grace said...

anti-bean? gasp! cringe! shudder! i'm glad you've moved on from that!
this is a very pretty, very healthy soup. maybe i'll suggest such a combination of ingredients at our next product development meeting, excluding the soy sauce, garlic, herbs, and spices, of course--heaven forbid there's too much flavor in the baby food... :)

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

What a gorgeous, gorgeous colour! I love the idea of combining the beetroot and dill, I wil keep that combo in mind!

Good luck with your apartment hunt!

Anna said...

I adore the bright red colour, particularly the second picture - so beautiful!

test it comm said...

What a colourful, healthy and tasty sounding soup!

LisaRene said...

Fun soup! This is a combination I would never have come up with on my own. I too love beets and have never thought to cook them in a soup.

Summer is here and I have noticed many bloggers including myself don't seem to be posting as much. For me it seems like we are out to dinner with friends a few times a week and attending lots of social functions so there isn't time or reason to cook.

Hope you find the perfect apartment!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I really like the recipes you share with us. This one looks so appealing. Great picture.

Johanna GGG said...

This soup looks so lovely I am dying to try it - I confess I always feel a little shamefaced when I see a recipe on a blog that gets me excited and then I see that it is from a cookbook I just don't look in enough! So now I think I must try this soup and use VwaV more

cindy said...

i love beets...and black beans too. i would have thought the black beans would have taken over color-wise, but the beets obviously did! very pretty! i still have to try your sweet potato and black bean chili...mmm.

Jaime said...

what a beautiful and bright soup!

Ivy said...

I saw your recipe from the round up. Sounds delicious.

Anna (Morsels and Musings) said...

you've got my vote!!!

Anonymous said...

just found this-I've made this soup too many times to list and the recipe calls for black SOY beans, different from the black beans. I'm sure it's still good tho!

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Yes it does call for black soybeans, but I couldn't find any at the time and used black beans. That's why I put "adapted" from. =)

Anonymous said...

I just tried this Beet, Bean and Barley Soup on a friend's rave recommendation of it, and I ended up needing to add more than double the soy sauce and more than double the balsamic vinegar to avoid complete blandness. In the end, it was "good" but not a "fantastic let's do it again." Maybe the medium sized beets were too big? I don't know. Tomorrow, I will be calling the girlfriend who raved to see if she'd like some of the leftovers since I'm a household of two and I have 10 cups leftover. Worth a try for sure.

Living in Exile said...

you need to add the dill. it's delicious