T’chicha (Barley and Tomato Soup) Recipe (2024)

Substituted farro for the barley, used bouillon cubes for stock, 14oz. of home grown and canned San Marzano tomatoes instead of 1/2 14oz. can. I served it with fresh corn bread and a mixed green salad and the wife loved it. " This is a keeper.... I could just keep on eating this". lol...I love when my cooking makes her happy! Thanks for the recipe!

Made this exactly as written but added carrots. It’s really good And the perfect canvas for experimenting. I think it would be good with some acid like a squirt of lemon and any other veggies and mushrooms. Anyhow all that being said, we enjoyed as is.

Made this today and followed the recipe to the letter. With 1.25 cups of pearl barley and a little more than the 5 recommended cups of broth, the consistency was extremely thick, more like a casserole than a soup! The flavor was nice, but not particularly special. It’s best qualities were the warmth and heartiness it provided on a cold day.

Made this with freekah and barley. Used 2 Med onions and LOTS of grated garlic (5 cloves) 14 Oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, 4 cups veggie broth and one cup water. I even added kale. Very satisfying.

Very satisfying! I followed the recipe, including suggestion by the author to add chopped veg.I added 2 cups diced zucchini & 2 cups diced baby bellas (during last 20 min of cooking). I did need to add an additional 4 cups of veg stock halfway through the cooking time, which then necessitated adding an additional teaspoon of paprika. I also started with 28oz. can of San Marzano whole tomatoes which I hand crushed (better quality tomatoes than the already crushed can tomatoes PLUS it's fun!)

We had this last night and it was killer! I used a full 14oz can of crushed tomatoes, and added 3 large carrots 1/4" sliced, 8oz box of baby bella mushrooms 1/4" sliced, and a lb of chopped beef. We added some hot paprika in with the sweet for a little bite and served with a crusty rosemary bread. Raves around the table. This will be a fun recipe to play with.

Really tasty! I saw this is the NYT food email and made it right away to eat for lunch the rest of the week. The flavors are delicious, it is nutritious, and also filling with the barley. I used more tomatoes as I have home-canned jars that are bigger. I did add a cup of water at the end to make it more soupy. A dash of lemon or vinegar might be good to serve with the soup, OR a dollop of sour cream or ricotta.

This was so easy and so good, I think I’m going to make this weekly. Really filling and comforting. I made it with homemade chicken broth and served it with bread on the side.

Absolutely delicious. I altered to be tomato-heavy and more of a stew than a soup:1/3 cup olive oil, more to serve2 large yellow onion, diced into ¼-inch pieces2 1/2 cups pearl barley28 oz can crushed tomatoes 5 garlic cloves, minced 3 1/2 teaspoons paprika2 teaspoons kosher salt 8 cups vegetable stock2 teaspoon dried thyme

We have been making virtually the same soup for years we first had at Claire’s Cornucopia in New Haven, CT - always outstanding!

Made this yesterday using a full 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, although I think 28 oz would have been better, since the barley swoll so much upon sitting that the soup was more akin to a bowl of oatmeal. It also needed much more salt (~2X) and I added 2 soup spoonfuls of Preserved Lemon Paste, which helped a lot. Will add a second can of tomatoes and some water and more paprika today and probably some fresh dill, since I have it. All in all, a good soup to have in the freezer.

Quite good as a pantry staple. Way too thick with ratios as written; added two more cups stock and used 3/4 of the can of tomatoes. I also added the paprika before the liquid to let it merge with the oil a bit. Nothing special, but reliable and comforting.

I had a 28 oz. can of tomatoes so I mostly doubled the recipe, used homemade veggie stock, minced the garlic instead of grating it, and added broccoli. The paprika added a lovely depth of flavor. This was so easy to make and I will be making it again. I'll add more/different veggies in the future. I think this would be great with fresh corn.

Easy, wonderful and flexible. Do (as suggestion) use the full can of tomatoes. Perhaps next time I'll throw some spinach in at the end.

Delicious, comforting, warming! I added a bit of cayenne pepper at the same time as the paprika and it was great. I also ended up adding about 1.5 cups more water as there wasn’t much liquid left after the barley finished cooking.

Made this last night. Very easy and good flavor. However, all I had was quick-cooking barley. At the stated 1 1/4 C of barley it was a little too much for me. Perhaps the standard barley would have made a difference. But it sounds like it is a very thick soup and you need to adjust to your taste. Will make an again, for sure.

Made the recipe pretty much as stated. Added the paprika and barley to let out onions to toast a little bit then added the tomatoes and Stock (BB) after about an hour, added a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans (any cook, canned beans, I think, would be equally good) then a sliced up Hungarian sausage (Csabi) and cooked for another half hour on simmer

Fantastic, fast and satisfying!

Made this a few times & it’s terrific! Used a whole can on tomato & for the paprika I used 2 tsp seeet & 1/2 tsp of pimenton paprika. Next time I would use 1 cup barley. I’ve also made this with soaked broth mix.

Used a full can of diced tomatoes, faro, and added sliced mushrooms and some dino kale. Next time, I might try without the mushrooms, as they dominated the flavor of the tomato. Added extra liquid, as so many mentioned. No extra salt needed - delicious!

I doubled everything except the oil, barley and onion, added about 3 oz of finely chopped andouille that was left over from last week’s gumbo and used mostly chicken broth and some vegetable Better than Bouillon dissolved in water. Super easy and delicious, our guests loved it and asked for seconds. I expect it will become a regular at our table.

A bit bland on its own, but we loved it with some harissa paste.

Added a pound of browned ground turkey for protein. Excellent! If you do so you will need to add at least 1.5 cups of extra broth or water. Add in after the soup has begun to boil.

added chopped fennel, leeks, extra garlic, and probably should have reduced the amount of barley, super thick- ate with pickled red onions on top - good, but maybe I should try it as written too

My family and friends loved this. I made it to be more like a stew than a soup and that worked fine. I didn't add other vegetables, though I plan to next time. The flavor alone was delicious and texture was great. I gave some to a friend and she said she loved it heated but ate some the next day cold and thought it was great too!

Loved this recipe. Comes together so fast and delivers on flavour. I added a can of chickpeas to up the protein. Have made this 3 times since discovering.

I think maybe those saying it was too thick missed this line in the recipe: "At this stage of the cooking process, you might need to add more water progressively to the pot to achieve a soup consistency." This is not a cookie recipe, the ratios need to be adjusted a bit as you go.

I used hulless barley to get the benefit of a whole grain. Cooked for an additional 35 minutes. Hulless barley absorbs less liquid than pearled, so I didn't need to add additional broth.The soup is really lovely.

What a nice simple recipe. I added some white beans and marinated artichoke hearts just to beef it up a bit. I had an open can of tomato paste and added that, too. Also only had smoke paprika.

Really delicious. Followed the recipe in terms of ingredients (just didn't measure anything so can't comment on proportions), except for using zaatar instead of thyme, and finishing with a squeeze of lemon juice. Also probably one of the cheapest possible things you can make, must work out to about 25 cents per portion!