Reader Recipe - Ed's Roast Lamb & Barley Soup - 1 - $ - !

Hurrah for reader recipes! You may remember Ed from such recipes as Ed's Winter Pasta Bake

He's been at it again with the warming dishes and sent this one in to share with the Ed's thumbs up.

Nice one Ed and thanks for sharing!


He writes...

A real winter warmer, and economical/resourceful overall. Ingredients make about 8-10 large serves.

As with all soups, use more or less ingredients if you need to or are poor (after a $60 work lunch here that day, I was definitely confined to "leftovers" for dinner!).
Be sparing with the barley, it goes straight to the bottom of the pot, and takes about 45 minutes to puff up to that wonderful texture, at which point it will take over the soup if you add too much.

Ingredients

Last night's roast lamb leftovers, bones n'all.
6 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled & coarsely chopped
1/2 a butternut pumpkin, peeled and cubed
8 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
150g green beans, topped, tailed and cut into thirds
75g barley
1/2 a large cabbage, shredded
1litre chicken or veggie stock
1 litre water (approx)
salt and pepper to taste (I use heaps)
dash of chilli powder (be sparing)
olive oil


1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Brown onion and garlic. Add potato, pumpkin and carrot and stir frequently for a few minutes until they begin to soften.
2. Add all the stock, bring it to boil, then add approx 300mls water, bring back to boil. Keep it moving as much as you can, cover for 10 minutes on high to continue to soften the veggies.
3. Add barley, stir in vigorously, remembering you won't see it for a while now. Bring back to boil, add cabbage and green beans and stir in, boil on high for 5 minutes, or til the cabbage wilts down and gives you some room (pot should be almost full by now). While this is happening, remove the meat and fat from the lamb bones and shred it roughly into smallish pieces. It's all going in, that's how soup works.
4. Add the bones, give it a few minutes then add the lamb and stir it all vigorously. Bring to boil if not already, and simmer for 20 minutes with lid on. Add more water if needed.
5. At this point use a masher to coarsely break up the veggies if required (not too much though)..time will do most of the work after that. Stir, stir, stir, then simmer for another 40-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

It is ready when the barley is soft and puffy, the soup is opaque and the lamb bones are mostly bare - don't eat them but! This soup is so filling on its own, bread is not required.

Enjoy!