Step 1
Soak the beans overnight in cold water. The next day, soften softly in boiling water without salt for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2
Wash or peel the vegetables and cut them into fine cubes. For the remaining steps, use 1/5 of the ingredients for the vegetarian version and the rest for the meat version. In 2 pots, add some butter and cook the diced veg for ~4 min. Add bacon and kielbasa, and cook for a bit longer (depending on the quantity, maybe cook the bacon and meat on its own first). Add the pearl barley, bay leafs and cook for another minute.

Step 3
Add broth, and any spices (nutmeg, pepper), bring to a boil and let it boil gently covered over low heat for 30 minutes.

Step 4
Add the white beans to the vegetarian version and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream.
Add some lemon juice to taste.

Tip
If the soup is too thick, it can be diluted with some broth.