Roasted Root Vegetable and Pearl Barley Soup

Recipe From What's For Lunch, Honey?

By Meeta K. Wolff

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• ½ celeriac, peeled and cubed

• 3 parsnips, peeled and cubed

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

• ½ pumpkin, peeled and cubed

• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 250 ml dry white wine

• 1.5 l vegetable broth – homemade is always best

• 125g pearl barley soaked and cooked according to packet instructions. Keep warm

• 10g marjoram

• Several sprigs thyme

• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Lightly oil a baking tray. In a large bowl toss all the vegetables except the onion, with about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add a few sprigs of thyme and marjoram, then scatter on the tray. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly soft and caramelized.

2. Set about ¼ of the cubed vegetables aside and keep warm. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat and sauté the onions until fragrant and translucent. Add the remaining ¾ of the vegetables to the pot making sure they do not stick to the bottom of the pot. Pour in the wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until the wine has reduced, then pour the stock. Bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and using a hand-held blender purée the vegetables and stock until the mixture is thick, creamy and smooth. Adjust seasoning accordingly.

3. Divide the thick soup into bowls, adding a few spoonfuls of pearl barley and the cubed vegetables to the top. Garnish with remaining herbs and serve.

Optional: small spiced lamb or beef meatballs will make this a great non-vegetarian option.

Ingredients

• 350g ground lamb or beef

• Marjoram

• Thyme

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

• salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients in a clean bowl. Pick off small amounts from the meat and roll small, bite-sized balls. Heat the olive oil in a frying and brown the meatballs in portions until cooked through. They should be crispy on the outside and still soft and moist on the inside.

Notes

Serve these meatballs to your guests separately with the soup. Non-vegetarians can help themselves adding to the soup as desired, while your vegetarian guests can enjoy the basic vegetarian version.

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