Warm and comforting, this is a great soup to fill you up at lunchtime.

INGREDIENTS

  • Drizzle of oil
  • 2 onions, peel and finely diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
  • ½ swede, peeled and roughly chopped
  • ¼ tsp ground coriander
  • Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground mace
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 500ml milk (dairy or plant based)
  • 50g pearl barley
  • Chopped parsley
  • Swirl of cream to garnish

DIRECTIONS

  1. Add a drizzle of oil to a large saucepan and add the diced onions and cook on a medium heat until translucent. Add the carrots, potatoes, parsnips and swede to the onions and stir.
  2. Add the ground spices and bay leaf and stir to combine. Add the vegetable stock, milk and pearl barley, then season with salt and pepper. Bring this to a simmer and cook until the vegetables and barley are tender. Remove any foam that may have risen to the surface.
  3. Remove half the soup from the pan and set aside, using the Masha, mash the remainder of the soup in the saucepan until the vegetables are crushed and the soup is thick, add the reserved soup back into the pan and mix together, then ladle into bowls. Sprinkle over some chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread.

SERVES 4