Light Vegetable Barley Soup

We really enjoyed this soup tonight. It is very light, yet tasty. It’s actually slightly sweet, from the parsnips.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 1/2 medium celery root, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 1/2 cup pearl barley (dry)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil of choice
• 4 cups vegetable bouillon
• 1 teaspoon sambal oelek, (optional but nice)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons soy yogurt
• 1 springs parsley, finely cut

Directions:

1. Peel and cut the vegetables.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot.
3. Add the cut vegetables and sauté until they begin to soften.
4. Once they have softened, add the vegetable bouillon.
5. Add the pearl barley.
6. Turn the heat down and allow the soup to simmer.
7. Shortly before serving, taste the soup and season with salt, pepper and optional sambal oelek as desired.
8. Snip the curly leaves of the parsley finely and add to the soup.
9. Blend the 2 tablespoons of soy yogurt into the soup broth and mix to a light creamy blend. This is not a thick soup. If you want it thick, you can add a paste made from cornstarch and water, or flour and water.

Notes:
We usually include an onion, and garlic in most of our soups, but this time we just wanted the flavors of the pure vegetables. We also wanted the soup to be on the light side, so we did not include potatoes. Of course that can be added to make a more substantial soup.