Barely Minestrone Recipe - Minestrone d'Orzo

This barley minestrone is a very simple, frugal soup from Friuli Venezia Giulia; day in and day out in poorer homes it would have been made merely with milk and water, while the addition of the lard would have been limited to more special occasions. To serve 6-8:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces (300 g) pearled barley
• 1 quart (1 liter) cold water
• 1 quart (1 liter) whole milk
• Salt to taste
• A bay leaf
• A leaf of fresh sage

Preparation:

Soak the barley for several hours. Then drain it well, and put it in a pot with the remaining ingredients; cook the mixture over a low flame for about 2 hours. If you want a more flavorful minestrone, mince an ounce of cured lard or fatty pancetta and a small onion, and sauté them briefly, until the onion turns golden, before stirring them into the pot. In either case remove the herbs before serving the soup.

Yield: 6-8 servings barley minestrone.

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