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Pearl barley and black kale broth

When it comes to pearl barley we tend to associate it with Scottish and Scandi cooking, yet it’s used all over the rest of Europe. This pearl barley and black kale broth is an Italian version, loved in Northern Italy during the winter months. It’s filling, warming and very easy to make, so perfect for lazy weekends! You can use normal kale or Savoy cabbage too if you can’t get Cavolo Nero.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 1 large carrot
  • I pack Diced Pancetta about 100g
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • Couple of pinches of chilli flakes
  • 1.2 litres vegetable stock
  • 100 g pearl barley
  • 200 g Cavolo Nero black kale
  • To serve: grated Parmesan optional

Method
 

  1. Finely chop the onion & garlic, dice the carrot. Finely chop the rosemary leaves.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and gently sauté the onion and carrot for 5 minutes. Add the pancetta, garlic, rosemary, chilli and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
  3. Meanwhile rinse & drain the pearl barley several times, until the rinsing water runs clear.
  4. Add the vegetable stock and the pearl barley to the pan. Bring to the boil, cover and gently simmer for 45 minutes or until the pearl barley is tender but still has a bite.
  5. Roughly chop the kale and to the broth. Cook for 5-8 minutes until it’s wilted.
  6. Serve the broth with ground pepper, chilli flakes (if you'd like it spicy) and grated Parmesan scattered on the top.