Vegetable Barley Soup

This recipe is from Real Simple magazine. I cut the recipe in half. the recipe below makes 8 quarts. Tasty and filling soup.
1.5 cups barley
1/4 cup olive oil
6 carrots, diced
6 stalks celery, diced
2 large onions, diced
4 parsnips, diced
Kosher salt + black pepper
one 102-oz can diced tomatoes {or 4 28-oz cans}
1 bunch kale, think stems discarded + leaves chopped {about 8 cups}
two 15.5-oz cans chickpeas, rinced
Cook the barley according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the carrots, celery, onions, arsnips, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, 20 to 25 minutes.
Add the tomatoes {and their juices} and 8 cups water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup has slightly thickened and the vegetables are tender, 45 to 60 minutes.
Add the kale + simmer, stirring occasionally, until it is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and cooked barley and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.