Italian sausage & barley soup

What you’ll need;

  • 1KG of Italian sausages (I buy from the butchers on James st, Leichhardt)

  • 2 onions diced

  • Heart felt amount of garlic

  • 2 carrots, peeled & finely chopped

  • 3 celery sticks washed and finely chopped

  • 1/2 cup of pearl barley

  • 2x 400 can of tomatoes

  • 1L of stock

  • 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

  • 1L of stock (chicken or veg)

  • Handful of fresh basil

What to do

  1. Bung a pot on a medium heat and seal the sausages in batches, and set aside on a plate. (When resting they will release some liquid which you will add to the soup later on - lots of yummy flavour in this!) 

  2. Using the same pot (do not rinse off) add some oil, onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Add the carrots and celery and continue to cook for a further 3-5 minutes or until the veggies are soft and tender.

  3. Add the pearl barley, the tin of cherry tomatoes and the stock and bring to the boil then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook with a lid on for a further 1 hour.

  4. Chuck the cherry tomatoes after an hour and cook for a further 20 minutes.

  5. Add the fresh basil to the pot and serve.
    *All soups/curries/Bolognese ect will always taste better the next day. It gives time to infuse with all of the yummy flavours.

Simon McDowell