Barley Soup (Ričet)
Ričet is a traditional barley stew found across Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and Bavaria. Made with barley, beans, root vegetables, and usually cured pork, it occupies a place somewhere between a soup and a thick porridge, depending on how much liquid is used. The word ričet derives from the Styrian German ritschet or ritschert and is connected to the German words rutschen (“to slide”) and rutschig (“slippery”), likely referring to the rich, hearty texture of the dish.
Written references to the dish date back at least to the 16th century. The earliest documented reference to a related variant, “Rutschhart," appears in the circa 1500 Tegernsee monastery manuscript (used until at least 1534), describing a spiced barley and pea broth served in Bavarian monastic settings. In the seventeenth century, the Slovenian polymath Janez Vajkard Valvasor also referred to the dish in his writings, using the term ričet still common in Slovenia today.
My grandmother used to make ričet regularly, often slicing sausage into the stew and serving it with bread.
Bogataj, Janez. Taste Slovenia. Ljubljana: Rokus Gifts & National Geographic, 2007.
Recipe
Ingredients:
200 g barley
140 g dried Borlotti beans
350 g smoked pork (for example, pork ribs)
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
2/3 parsley root (or parsnip)
100 g kohlrabi
100 g celeriac
275 g potatoes
a few sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Sort through the beans, rinse them under running water, place them in a bowl, and cover with plenty of cold water. Remove and discard any beans that float to the surface. Soak the beans overnight.
Rinse the barley under running water, place it in a bowl, and cover with cold water. Let soak for at least 3 hours.
Drain the soaked beans, transfer them to a pot, and cover with fresh cold water. Add the bay leaf and cook until the beans are tender.
Transfer the soaked barley together with the soaking water to a large pot. Add the smoked meat and pour in enough cold water to cover the ingredients by about 7–8 cm (3 inches). Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for about 60 minutes.
Wash and clean the vegetables (parsley root, kohlrabi, celeriac, and carrots), then cut them into small cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic separately. Add the onion and garlic to the pot first, followed by the diced vegetables. Simmer gently for another 20 minutes.
Peel the potatoes, wash them, and cut them into cubes. Add them to the pot and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
Rinse the parsley, shake it dry, and finely chop it. Shortly before the end of cooking, remove the smoked meat from the pot and cut it into slices or cubes. Drain the cooked beans.
Return the meat to the pot together with the beans and parsley. Taste the ričet and season with additional salt and freshly ground pepper if needed.
Stir well and serve hot with bread.
