Easy to make and delicious

I'm sure the originial is awesome, but I modified the heck out of it -- didn't use any barley, used thyme instead of rosemary, doubled the beans used, added a chicken breast (baked and shredded, like rotisserie-style) and didn't use mushrooms or peppers. The soup basically had 4 ingredients: beans, tomatoes, chicken and spinach. It's enriched with lots of garlic, onion and a splash of white wine. Delicious! Healthy and tasty enough that my boyfriend will eat it too. Top with parmesan!

What a disappointment! This recipe looked good on paper, but didn't taste good at all. It was so bad that my husband, who usually eats everything, said he couldn't finish his bowl. I tried to save the soup by adding some tomatoes, but it didn't really help. The soup's taste is just too bland and the texture is just too weird (b/c of the couscous, I guess). I will never make this soup again.

I LOVE the combo of white beans with barley. Like many others, I cooked the barley in broth, and I let it cook for about 45 mins. I used dried beans instead of canned, I started them about 15 mins before I started the barley. I omitted the mushrooms and yellow pepper, but upped the garlic. I added a tad of garam masala, and plenty of crushed red pepper. I let the mixture of everything except the spinach cook for 20 mins. Then I added the spinach (more than 2 cups) for the last 10 mins. We topped with shredded mozzarella cheese. Delish!!

This was very good, although I don't know if I'd call it a stew. there wasn't much liquid to it at all. I ended up using 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with out draining them. Taste was very good, but it was more like a side dish for me.

This was very tasty, but as others have mentioned it was really almost too thick and needed some seasoning help. I added some vegetable stock to thin it out a bit and added some cajun type seasonings, more garlic and some more spinach to this. I tasted it right after I made it and really wasn't that impressed, but I let it sit in the fridge overnight and then WOW. Really much better!

One word: Mmmmmm. Only changes were used pinto beans instead of white, and roasted the garlic in the oven instead of frying. Mmmmm. Mmmmm. Mmmmm. I am going to make lots of this and freeze it for my lunches now on Fridays during lent!

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was bland, like others said. The rosemary smelled wonderful cooking, but the flavor just wasn't there. Very easy to prepare! And it is a MEAL! Very thick and hearty. I left out the wine (who has two tablespoons of wine lying around?) and didn't have any peppers to add. All in all, it was a fine meal, but I probably won't repeat it.

We honestly didn't care for this stew. It was very bland even after spicing it with herbs, more garlic and stock. I can't imagine the stew with only garlic, rosemary and a pinch of red pepper flakes. There are just other recipes for soups that I prefer.

This is an excellent recipe - it reheats well and is even better the second day!

My daughter ate this but said it was a bit bland even with the pepper flakes. Not a bad dish by any means just not to her taste. Thanks for letting me try.

This was okay, not spectacular. I followed the recipe with the exception of substituting chicken broth for water.

This was easy to make. Barley needs to cook at least 45 minutes. Used brandy instead of wine cause that is what I had in the house. Next time I will make with vegetable stockand use the canned tomatoes without draining. This is a very colorful dish with wonderful textures. But, it needs more spice.

I thought this was one of the best stews I have made yet this season. I used four cups of vegetable broth instead of water to give it extra flavor. Yum!

I wasn't too crazy about this dish. It certainly wasn't a stew. It was basically a meal. I did cook the barley in some stock to give it flavour and I also cooked it longer, as per another reviewer's suggestion. It might have been better if the dish was served over the barley instead of mixed in. I served it with a nice crusty bread. Though my husband I ate it and was ok, the kids weren't crazy about it (and they usually do like beans and grains and such). I won't be making it again. It's too bad...it seemed promising...

Deee-lish!