GRISONS PEARL BARLEY SOUP — The Kitchen Scholar

Dec 14

Dec 14 GRISONS PEARL BARLEY SOUP

The Kitchen Scholar

Soups

SOURCE: MICHAEL FIELD AND FRANCES FIELD. A QUINTET OF CUISINES.

Grisons Pearl Barley Soup — In the second chapter of the children’s novel, ***Heidi***, Johanna Spyri uses the *Raclette* cheese melting from a roasting spit to charm her salivating readers to the humble and rustic life in Grisons, which is a vividly fictionalized facsimile of her childhood summers in the capital of Chur. That is not to say, her chances of encountering the local barley soup are less likely even in its absence in all of her literary works. Switzerland’s largest and easternmost canton has 150 valleys with each community having their own permutation of the hearty soup. Finding the best formula may take a lifetime, but this recipe by husband and wife duo food writers Michael and Frances Field, who traveled to Switzerland for their research on ***Foods* *of the World*** book series, is just as homey as the soups of the rugged region.

Ingredients

2/3 cup/100 grams pearl barley

1 pound/450 grams smoked ham hocks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 pints/2000 mL cold water

1 cup/100 grams finely chopped leeks, preferably taken from the white part and 2 inches/5 cm of the light green tops

2/3 cup/65 grams finely chopped celery

1/3 cup/57 grams finely chopped onions

1 medium-sized potato, peeled and finely chopped

3/4 cup/180 mL heavy cream

OPTIONAL: Chopped chives for garnish

Specific Equipment

Stockpot

Serves 6 to 8

Instructions

1. Place barley, ham hocks, salt, and pepper in a stockpot. Pour in the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover the stockpot partially. Simmer for 45 minutes.

2. Add the leeks, celery, onions and potato, and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the barley grains are soft and the vegetables are tender.

3. Remove the stockpot from heat. Discard the ham hocks OR set the ham hocks aside by serving them on their own. Pour the heavy cream gradually into the soup and stir until well-blended.

4. Simmer the soup for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Garnish with chopped chives, if desired. Serve in a soup tureen or from individual soup bowls.