Yogurt Barley Soup

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 45 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

Arecent meal at an Armenian restaurant inspired this recipe for yogurt barley soup. Creamy without being heavy, the zesty yogurt provides a nice balance to nutty and chewy barley. When the barley is cooked ahead of time, the soup is a snap to put together, and it can be served hot or cold. This one is definitely going into our comfort food repertoire.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked pearl barley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, plus more sprigs for garnish
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt, room temperature
Sweet paprika for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent.
Add barley, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper and stir to coat.
Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in yogurt. If soup is too cool after the addition of the yogurt, you can gently heat it through, but don't boil it or the yogurt will curdle.
Serve hot or chilled. Garnish with parsley and paprika, if desired.