Zuppa d'Orzo Trentina
A comforting Trentino winter soup of pearl barley, diced root vegetables, and savoury smoked pork. Known locally in Italian as zuppa d'orzo alla trentina.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 95 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 460 kcal
Equipment
- •Heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven
- •Chef's knife
- •Chopping board
- •Ladle
- •Tongs
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- fat
- 16 g
- carbs
- 56 g
- fibre
- 9 g
- protein
- 22 g
- calories
- 460 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Warm the olive oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
- 2
Add the diced pancetta and fry for three minutes until it renders its fat.
- 3
Tip in the chopped onion, carrot, and celery.
- 4
Cook gently for eight minutes until the vegetables soften and turn sweet.
- 5
Add the rinsed pearl barley and stir for one minute to coat in the fat.
- 6
Pour in the warm water or stock and add the bay leaf.
- 7
Nestle the smoked pork bone into the liquid and bring to a gentle boil.
- 8
Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for forty minutes.
- 9
Add the diced potato and cook for another twenty minutes until tender and thick.
- 10
Remove the smoked pork bone using tongs, shred the tender meat, and return it to the pot.
- 11
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper after tasting the smoky broth.
- 12
Stir through the chopped parsley and ladle into warm bowls.
Chef's tips
Taste the broth before adding salt, as the smoked pork bone and pancetta naturally season the soup. Dice all the root vegetables evenly to match the size of the swollen barley grains for the best mouthfeel. If the soup becomes too thick as the barley expands, loosen it with a splash of hot water.
Ingredient substitutions
- smoked pork shank bone → smoked pork ribs or a piece of smoked ham hock
- pearl barley → pot barley, adding fifteen extra minutes to the simmer time
- pancetta → smoked speck or unsmoked bacon lardons
Storage
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water or stock to loosen the thick barley.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Salting the pot too early, which causes the soup to become overly salty as the smoked bone simmers.
- •Adding the potato at the very beginning, causing it to disintegrate completely instead of holding gentle shape.
- •Boiling too vigorously, which scorches the barley at the bottom of the pan.
Serving suggestions
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