Even though I love cooking at home, I still like to eat out from time to time. And one of my favorite spots to hit up is a local Persian restaurant called Surena. They honestly make some of the best Persian food that I have ever eaten. But what I love the most about them is their expansive menu that has introduced me to all sorts of dishes I had never had before. And one such dish is always served complimentary during lunch, Persian barley soup.
If you’ve never heard of it before, Persian barley soup, or soup e jo as it is known in Farsi, is a simple and hearty dish. It mainly consists of pearled barley, diced onion, diced celery, and shredded carrots. All of which is cooked in a creamy chicken stock spiked with just a hint of lemon juice. And while it doesn’t feature a whole lot of spices, or crazy flavor combinations its delicate flavor is unbelievably comforting.
An unexpected key ingredient
When I first researched how to make Persian barley soup, I was surprised to find that most recipes often included bechamel sauce. That’s right, classically French bechamel sauce! I honestly found it a little hard to believe at first. But after trying out recipes that used cream and yogurt I have to admit that the ones with a bechamel sauce just tasted right.
And don’t be intimidated if you’ve never made a bechamel sauce before. While it might sound fancy, it’s really not that complicated. It all starts by making a simple roux by whisking together 1 part melted butter and 1 part flour. Then you simply pour in a little bit of milk, and continue to whisk the three ingredients together for a couple of minutes or until it’s nice and thick.
Honestly, that’s it! So just take it slowly, and you won’t mess up.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- When purchasing your barley from the store make sure that it is labeled pearled barley. This is barley that has had the outer husk removed which will result in a much lower cooking time. However, if you can’t find pearled barley, then don’t worry you can still use it. You will just need to add another hour or two of cooking time during step 2.
- This soup makes great leftovers, however, because of the bechamel sauce, you will want to reheat it slowly. If you attempt to reheat it over a high flame, then you might end up burning some of the sauce on the bottom of the pot.
- Try out some of our other Persian recipes like Shirazi salad, Joojeh kebabs, and Saffron rice.
Persian Barley Soup (Soup e Jo)Recipe
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour & 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
1 Medium onion, diced small
1 Stick of celery, diced small
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Quarts of chicken stock
1 Cup of uncooked pearl barley
1 Large carrot, peeled & grated
Salt & pepper to taste
For the Bechamel sauce:
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 Tablespoons of flour
2 Cups of milk
Optional garnishes:
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Minced parsley leaves
Instructions
- Saute the onion and celery: Get out a large pot or dutch oven, pour the olive oil into it, and place it over medium-high heat. Toss in the diced onion and celery and sautee both ingredients for roughly 4 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Make the soup base and cook the barley: Pour the 2 quarts of chicken stock into the same pot and let it come to a simmer. Then toss in the barley, and shredded carrot, stirring everything together.
Cover the pot and let it simmer for an hour or until the barley has become cooked and tender.
- Make the bechamel sauce: Get out a medium-sized pot and melt the butter in it over medium heat. Then toss in the flour and whisk the two ingredients together until they form a light roux, about 2 minutes.
Follow this up by slowly pouring in the milk, about ¼ cup at a time, making sure to constantly whisk the roux and milk together. Continue to whisk the bechamel sauce for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it has become thick and velvety.
- Add the bechamel sauce to the soup: Pour the bechamel sauce into the soup and stir so that it is incorporated.
Then let the soup simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. Finnish the soup by tasting it and adding enough salt and pepper to your liking.
- Serve the Persian barley soup into bowls and allow people to add parsley leaves and lemon juice to their liking. Enjoy!
Persian Barley Soup (Soup e Jo) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Medium onion diced small
- 1 Stick of celery diced small
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 Quarts of chicken stock
- 1 Cup of uncooked pearl barley
- 1 Large carrot peeled & grated
- Salt & pepper to taste
For the Bechamel sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons of butter
- 2 Tablespoons of flour
- 2 Cups of milk
Optional garnishes:
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- Minced parsley leaves
Instructions
- Saute the onion and celery: Get out a large pot or dutch oven, pour the olive oil into it, and place it over medium-high heat. Toss in the diced onion and celery and sautee both ingredients for roughly 4 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Make the soup base and cook the barley: Pour the 2 quarts of chicken stock into the same pot and let it come to a simmer. Then toss in the barley, and shredded carrot, stirring everything together. Cover the pot and let it simmer for an hour or until the barley has become cooked and tender.
- Make the bechamel sauce: Get out a medium-sized pot and melt the butter in it over medium heat. Then toss in the flour and whisk the two ingredients together until they form a light roux, about 2 minutes. Follow this up by slowly pouring in the milk, about ¼ cup at a time, making sure to constantly whisk the roux and milk together. Continue to whisk the bechamel sauce for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it has become thick and velvety.
- Add the bechamel sauce to the soup: Pour the bechamel sauce into the soup and stir so that it is incorporated. Then let the soup simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. Finnish the soup by tasting it and adding enough salt and pepper to your liking.
- Serve the Persian barley soup into bowls and allow people to add parsley leaves and lemon juice to their liking. Enjoy!
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