Spiced onion soup with barley and lentil
This Middle-Eastern style spiced onion soup with barley and lentil is an interesting version of French onion soup. It’s very tasty, very filling and very healthy – worth the long cooking time. Perfect for lazy weekends, served with flatbread, crusty rolls or goats-cheese crostini.
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the pearl barley in 300 ml water for about 30 minutes, until tender.
- Meanwhile peel the onions and thinly slice them.
- When the water is completely absorbed, pour in the vegetable stock, add the onion, lentil and spices.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 90 minutes under cover, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add more vegetable stock.
- In the meantime thinly slice the two onions for serving and wrap them in a paper towel to dry out. Leave them for half an hour.
- In a frying pan heat some oil and at low temperature gently fry the onion slices until golden. This will take about 15 minutes. Add the sliced garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Drain them on paper towels and set aside.
- When the soup is cooked (i.e. the pearl barley and lentils are soft), season to taste with salt & pepper, then stir in the coriander and lemon juice.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the fried onion rings. Serve warm.