Vegetable and barley soup

This is a heart-warming and comforting soup that delivers a high degree of nutritional value to make you feel both good and healthy. Who needs expensive goji berries when pearl barley packs exactly the same punch, and here’s a great way of serving up that barley along with other vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 onion
• 3 carrots
• 4 sticks of celery
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 lb / 500g potatoes (roughly two large baking potatoes) cut into 2.5 cm / one-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 14 ounces / 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 3½ pints / 2 litres vegetable stock
• 4¼ ounces / 120g pearl barley
• 14 ounces / 400g can butter beans

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan.

Blitz the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in a food processor.

Put in the pan along with the potatoes and cook over a medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add the tomato puree and stir to combine for one minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and pearl barley and bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Drain and rinse the butter beans and add to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes.

Season to taste.

Tips

Serve with roughly cut chunks of wholemeal or rustic bread.

Trivia

Research has shown that humble, inexpensive pearl barley delivers just as much goodness and nutritional benefit as the more expensive superfood goji berries.