Swiss Barley Soup (Gerstensuppe)

Discover more Swiss regional specialties on my small group food & wine tour of Switzerland!
Swiss Barley Soup: Bündner Gerstensuppe (Meat Soup Recipes)

I always cook up a big pot of delicious Swiss barley soup (gerstensuppe) for Swiss National Day (1 August). It’s one of Franz’s favourite childhood memories – a sustaining dish full of vegetables and cured meat, that’s more a meal than a soup, and perfect for that time of year in Sydney. This version, called Bündner Gerstensuppe, is from the canton of Grisons (also called Graubünden) in Switzerland’s far east, a remote mountainous area bordering Italy and Austria. As it’s almost impossible to get Swiss wine in Australia, with it we drink the deliciously elegant Patrizi Nebbiolo d’Alba from Piedmont, just across the Swiss-Italian border. Raw speck (cured pork belly), schweinenacken (smoked pork, similar to German kassler) and air-dried beef (which is close enough to smoked) are traditional in Swiss barley soup and available from specialist European shops such as Brot & Wurst on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. See the video below for highlights of my small-group Swiss food & wine tour.

Serves 8 as a substantial starter

Ingredients
  • 100g pearl barley (3½oz)
  • 50g butter (1¾oz)
  • 200g brown onion, finely diced (7oz)
  • Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
  • 1 leek, white part only, washed and finely diced
  • 450g carrots, peeled and finely diced (16oz)
  • 500g celeriac, peeled and finely diced (1lb 2oz)
  • ¼ Chinese cabbage, finely sliced
  • 1 x 150g piece raw speck, finely diced (5oz)
  • 1 x 150g piece schweinenacken, finely diced (5oz)
  • 1 x 100g piece smoked beef, finely diced (3½oz)
  • 1.5 litres water (3⅓ pints)
  • 450g potatoes, peeled and finely diced (16oz)
Method
  1. Soak barley overnight in cold water in the fridge.
  2. Melt butter over a low heat, add onion and a good pinch of salt and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes until translucent.
  3. Stir in leek, cover and cook for a further 5–10 minutes, until it just begins to colour.
  4. Stir in carrot and celeriac, salt generously, cover and cook for 5 minutes, then add cabbage, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes or so, until carrot starts to soften.
  5. Stir in speck, schweinenacken and beef.
  6. Add water, bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  7. Drain barley, rinse well and add to the soup. Continue cooking for a further 40 minutes.
  8. Add potato, taste and add salt and pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes or so, until potato is tender.
  9. Serve, or cool and refrigerate to be reheated and served later. It only gets better!
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Swiss Food & Wine Tour Highlights

What Other Travellers Say

Andrea (Adelaide, SA, Aus)
Andrea (Adelaide, SA, Aus)
Switzerland with Roberta was all I hoped and expected – she takes control of all the things I no longer want to decide. Roberta plans the itinerary to such an amazing extent – the food choices and venues always showcase the region we’re in and never disappoint. The small group works extremely well, with enough downtime to do your own thing but beautifully combined with an itinerary which encompasses all the things you want to see and more. My trip to Switzerland was my second adventure with Roberta – my first was Emilia-Romagna and I’ve already booked my next one to Scotland.
Belinda (Balmain, NSW, Aus)
Belinda (Balmain, NSW, Aus)
I had such a blast on the Swiss food and wine tour with Roberta. As a solo traveller, I loved the friendly small group vibe and the fact that all meals and transport were taken care of. I got to explore amazing villages and wineries and cheese producers that I would have missed if I'd been travelling on my own. It was so much fun that I've already booked my next tour with Roberta.
Teri (Pokolbin, NSW, Aus)
Teri (Pokolbin, NSW, Aus)
Thank you Roberta for organising such a wonderful Swiss tour! It felt like going from gem to gem – and your knowledge and passion for the places we visited and the people you introduced us to was evident throughout. Starting in the most charming village and finishing at such a grand and beautiful location, I remember thinking at our farewell lunch: “it doesn’t get much better than this!” Thank you, and I am already looking forward to my next trip with you.
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