Vegetable Minestrone Soup

This is minestrone built for volume.

A full gallon of thick, rustic soup packed with red-skinned potatoes, white beans, pearl barley, corn, and green peas in a garlicky crushed tomato base.

Leeks add a sweeter, more delicate onion flavor than you’d get from onions alone, and the barley swells as it simmers, giving the broth a naturally thick, stew-like body.

Basil and bay leaf keep the Italian spirit alive without fussing over a long ingredient list.

This is the kind of soup you make on a Sunday and eat all week.

Kitchen Tips

• Add the barley after the potatoes and carrots have had a 25-minute head start; barley cooks faster and can get gummy if it goes in too early
• Use only the white part of the leek and rinse it well; sand hides in those layers
• The soup thickens considerably as it cools, so thin with water or broth when reheating leftovers
• A drizzle of olive oil and a grating of Parmesan over each bowl takes this from simple to special