Cabbage, barley and coriander soup

Thick and chunky, perfect for a winter’s day outside in the fields threshing wheat, or even dealing with the Westfield car park… We used Demeter organic pearled barley – super texture, super delish!

Fresh from the garden: cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots, bay, coriander
Recipe source: Melissa
Serves: 8 or 24 tastes

What to do:

• Fill the kettle and set it to boil.
• Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.
• Peel, wash and chop the carrots into small bite-sized chunks.
• In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
• Add onion and garlic, and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Measure out the boiling water & add to bouillon, stir and carefully pour in to the stockpot. Bring to the boil then measure out and add the barley, bay leaf, the ground coriander and a few grinds of pepper.
• Cut the cabbage into quarters, wash them then chop out the core (good for the chooks!) and roughly chop. Then add the cabbage and tomatoes and return to the boil. Simmer for about 25 minutes all up, stirring occasionally, until the barley is cooked.
• Meanwhile wash and spin the fresh coriander dry, then finely chop (but not into mush!!!)
• When the soup is done, divide among bowls, sprinkle on the coriander and eat hot!

Notes: What does fragrant and translucent mean? What is barley? What does pearled barley mean? What else is coriander known as?