Red Lentil Barley Stew

Tasty but I found it was so thick it was almost like a barley risotto.

My daughter has Celiac. I have found that buckwheat works well as a gluten free alternative to barley in our family favorites. I will give this a try with the gluten free ingredients.

This soup is beyond delicious. I added some chunks of tomatoes because, well, summer. I have so many! I think almost any veggie could be thrown in, but the fennel and lemon are key. I kicked up the heat with ground Szechwan pepper.

Wonderful mid eastern flavors and textures. I have served this with tender roasted chicken thighs. I highly recommend this recommend this dish. 😋

In my first pass trying out a new recipe, I will not deviate from the way it's written. Then, I will refine it on subsequent attempts. This recipe needs no further refinement, it's very, very good as written. It doesn't take much time to put together, does not cost a lot, tastes fantastic, and is reheats well. This recipe has been added to my permanent short list of go-to weeknight meals.

Suggest using hulled barley as it’s less processed, therefore has more fibre, and better for your gut. I cooked it separately as it takes 50 t 60 minutes. Start it first, and by the time you get everything else chopped and cooked, the barley is finished and ready to add. I also added some of the barley cooking water to thin the stew to the desired texture. We all loved it.

Really good. I was home all day and fussed with the cooking, which might have been key for me. Used farro instead of barley, cooking it mostly alone and then later adding the red lentils, which of course fall apart. Sadly had no cilantro. Had nice baharat to use. Makes enough to freeze some and then will make again one day.

A second note. The soup was too soup-y when I ate it. However, the left-overs became very thick later that night. SO, if you’re going to eat ALL of the soup when cooked, I’d reduce the amount of added stock. If you’re planning on eating the soup later, I’d add the recommended amount of stock. I guess I forgot how barley absorbs stock as the soup sits around.

Thick hearty stew, cooked uncovered 30 min and barley softened up fine. Served over basmati rice, but would be fine on its own. Served with a dollop of yogurt. Fed the two of us with four additional servings leftover. Meat eating husband had seconds!

I am currently preparing this dish. I made the following changes. I took about 12 oz of andouille sausage, sliced in 1/3” rounds and browned them. I removed the sausage and proceeded as directed. After twenty minutes or so, the barley was cooked and the lentils had disintegrated. But the dish was WAY too soupy. I am now concentrating it down. Next time, I would add one quart of stock, NOT TWO. Before we eat the soup, the sausage will be added back to the mixture.

This recipe is now a staple of my cookbook. Thankyou: delicious and easy.

This was delicious. I had green lentils which don't cook down like red lentils, so I chopped half of them in a mini food processor before adding them to the stew. The stew was nice and thick and hearty, not soupy. We liked that the rest of the lentils kept some chew.

As others have done I want to encourage others to make this delightfully flavorful stew emphasis on stew. The third time I made it I added a pound of 1/4” cubed stewing beef which I’d salted overnight. I browned it at the start of cooking, removed from the pot, added a splash of red wine to release the fond then sautéed the veggies. Add the beef back to the pot before simmering. Fantastic.

I normally like cilantro, but cooking the stems seemed to bring out the soapy side of the herb. Next time, I might just use the leaves at the end, or omit it. But otherwise, this was great.