Soup Archives - Slice Of Honey

Barley Soup

This hearty soup is rich in flavor yet easy to make – a perfect way to warm up on a cold day.

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Barley, Barley Soup, Dinner, Easy Recipe, Homemade Soup, Soup, Vegan Recipe, Vegetarian Recipe

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
2 large parsnips, cut into 1/4" slices
2 lb white mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dry red wine
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2/3 cup pearl barley

Instructions

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add carrots and parsnips, cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper. Cook until mushrooms start to sweat. Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and stir until evenly coated. Pour in diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable broth and wine. Stir in tomato paste and barley. Increase heat to bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 45 minutes or until barely is cooked through.

Notes

Having a hard time pulling those thyme leaves off of the stem? Grab a few sprigs and tie them together with kitchen twine. Toss the whole bundle into the soup and simply remove the bundle when soup is fully cooked.
This is a thick, hearty soup. If you prefer a thinner soup, you can add water after simmering until you reach the consistency you desire.

Lately I’ve been realizing just how busy my weekdays are. A typical day means I’m up at 5:45am to get ready and help our daughter get ready for the day. After working a full day at the office, I pick our daughter up from school then head home. We have just a little time to play before needing to get dinner going. Soon after dinner, we put our daughter to bed and then I rush out the door to get a workout in. Around 8:00pm I am finally able to relax and catch up with my husband on how our day was. I know my schedule isn’t all that unusual, lots of families have a similar (or crazier) routine. To be honest, I also have TONS of help from my husband, he is my ultimate teammate in life! However, reflecting on my schedule has emphasized the importance of easy meals in our household. I do prefer to cook homemade meals but I definitely have days when those chicken nuggets in the freezer are all I can muster. On the days when I am cooking, I try to fix healthy meals and expose my daughter to a variety of foods and flavors (with an emphasis on vegetables).

My daughter has been really eager to help in the kitchen lately which provides an opportunity to share a wider variety of foods with her. She might not end up eating what we fix (she is only two years old, after all, and I’m realistic) but the exposure is still there. If she sees us prepping and eating healthy foods, those options won’t be strange to her as she gets older. This bisque recipe is actually a perfect one for her to help with. I chop vegetables and then let her put them into a bowl, season them and pour them out onto a sheet pan for roasting. We have also been finding ways to incorporate other lessons into our cooking routines. “How many eggs did we put in the bowl?” “What colors do you see on the pan?” Not to mention she is learning how to follow directions. All of this learning is happening while helping to get dinner on the table. This is what we call a Win-Win situation, my friends!

Tips:

You can absolutely roast these vegetables the night before you plan to serve the bisque and then blend everything together when you’re ready to eat it. Store those veggies in a sealed container in the fridge. However, since the vegetables will be cold rather than hot from the oven, you might need to pour the blended bisque into a pot and warm it over the stovetop or in a crockpot before serving it.
If you’re making this for a bigger crowd, double the ingredients. You can still roast all the vegetables at the same time but it won’t all fit in the blender at once. Blend what you can then pour it into a large pot and repeat this until everything is in the pot. Stir it all together with a large spoon or whisk until fully incorporated.

Print Recipe

ROASTED VEGETABLE BISQUE

The perfect dish to warm you up on a cold evening.

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup Raw cashews
1 large head Cauliflower, cut into florets
4 cloves Garlic, unpeeled
2 Medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1 Medium yellow onion, sliced
2 Large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into large pieces
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt & pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons Red miso paste
1/2 teaspoon Ground cumin
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
2 cups Vegetable broth (more if you want to thin the bisque out a bit)
Croutons & chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Place cashews in a bowl of water and let soak. While cashews are soaking, put cauliflower, garlic and carrots in a large bowl. Drizzle bowl of vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until evenly coated then spread evenly on a sheet pan. Place onion and peppers in the bowl used for vegetables then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until evenly coated then spread evenly on a second sheet pan. Place both sheet pans in the oven and roast vegetables 20-30 minutes or until they are tender and edges start to brown. Note that the onion and peppers are likely to be done earlier than the other vegetables.
Drain and rinse cashews then place them in a high-powered blender. Peel roasted garlic cloves add them to the blender along with all of the vegetables. Add miso, cumin, sriracha and vegetable broth to blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Garnish with croutons and parsley.