Sausage, Lentil, and Barley Stew

When scrolling through the feed of blogs I follow the other day, it caught my eye that +Joumana Accad over at Taste of Beirut had made a beautiful Lentil Stew Damascus-style (Harak Osba'o). I haven't read it yet, but when I heard we were supposed to get hit with another eight inches of snow the next day, I was thinking a Lentil Stew might be the perfect way to finally send off winter. I'm soooooo over it!  

I love lentil soup but have never made a stew with it, so I decided that barley would be a good way to bulk it up. I also had a package of Spicy Italian Sausage in the freezer, so I decided to incorporate those, but I'm thinking this would also be great with a nice smoked Kielbasa.

INGREDIENTS :
1 lb pkg Spicy Italian Sausages
1 T olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 T Worcestershire
32 oz+ beef broth
1 c lentils
1 c pearled barley
1 can crushed or petite diced tomatoes

1. Heat enough olive oil in your stock pot to just coat the bottom, to prevent the sausages from sticking before they start to give off their own oils
2. Pierce the sausages with the tip of a knife or tines of a fork in a few places to prevent them from bursting, then cook in the olive oil, rolling frequently, until almost cooked through (don't worry if they're not fully cooked, as they will be simmering later)
3. Remove the sausages from the pot and set aside
4. If the sausages gave off quite a bit of grease, remove all but about 1T
5. Add the onion and garlic to the pot, scraping up any bits of sausage, until the onions are soft
6. Add the butter, then sprinkle the flour, whisking for a minute or so to get a roux going
7. Whisk in the Worcestershire
8. Add a splash of the broth and continue whisking to release any remaining bits from the bottom of the pot, then pour in the rest of the broth
9. Add the lentils, barley, and tomatoes and bring up to a boil
10. Slice the sausages and return to the pot, reducing the heat to a simmer until the sausages are fully cooked and the lentils and barley are tender
11. As the lentils and barley soak up the broth, you may find that you need to add more broth or water