In this post I share with you an easy recipe for making Cabbage, Onion and Barley Soup. This is a comforting soup that is hearty enough to be filling but low calorie enough to make up for over-indulging over the holiday season. It's diet food that doesn't taste like diet food. This soup tastes like something your grandma would have made on a cold snowy day; and that just makes me smile.
Eating With The Seasons
According to Ayurveda, we need to live in rhythm with Mother Nature, and that means Seasonal Eating. To do this, we have to pay attention to what foods are in season, and cook them in a manner that brings balance to the energy of the season we are in. Winter vegetables are the heartly vegetables that were harvested in the Fall and that will last in our fridge (the modern day root cellar) until Spring. This would be things like root vegetables, heartly squash and cruciferous veggies like brussels sprouts and cabbage. And because Winter is cold and dry, we want our foods to be warm and moist...hello soups and stews!
The Cookbook
I found the inspiration for this soup in one of my favorite cookbooks (confession, I have several) called Six Seasons - A New Way With Vegetables. I love this book because it breaks the year down into 6 seasons (Spring, Early Summer, Mid Summer, Late Summer, Fall, Winter) and provides great recipe ideas for all the wonderful vegetables that are in season.
I turned to the Winter section, looking for something warm and comforting to enjoy on a cold day. I found exactly what I was looking for - Comforting Cabbage, Onion & Farro Soup. As with everything I make in my kitchen, I changed it up and made it my own. See my recipe below.
Weight-Loss
Yes, this is a low-calorie soup. That does make it a good option if you are watching your calorie intake; we have all heard of a cabbage soup diet, right? However, I don’t like any sort of fad diet and really, this soup is too delicious to be labelled diet food. It’s just good, healthy food.
Whether you are trying to lose weight or are simply looking for a comforting winter meal, I urge you to give this soup a try. Serve it with a piece of crusty bread and you have a delicious meal.
Watch Me Make It
Ingredients
● 1 lb green cabbage
● Olive oil
● 1 ½ medium onion
● 2 carrots
● 3-4 stalks of celery
● 4 clove garlic, minced
● 1 sprig of fresh thyme and rosemary
● Juice of ½ lemon
● 1 TBSP white wine vinegar
● ½ cup barley, cook following pkg directions
● 4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
● Grated parmesan for garnish
Tools
(These are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
vegetable peeler (I love this one so much)
Preparation
- Chop and sweat veggies. Peel and chop the carrots, celery, onion. Add oil into a soup pot, then add veggies. Stir to coat with oil and cook on medium heat until they begin to soften. Season with salt & pepper. While the hard veggies soften, thinly chop cabbage into bite sized pieces. Add to soup pot.
- Cook barley. Follow the package directions to cook about ½ cup of dry barley in a separate pan.
- Add flavor. Peel and mince garlic into soup pot. Add thyme and rosemary. Stir to incorporate.
- Add liquids. To the soup pot add lemon juice, vinegar, barley with any remaining water and broth.
- Simmer. Place pot on low heat, simmer until all veggies are nice and tender.
Additional Ingredient
If you want to change this recipe to add more protein or more veggies, go ahead! Any of these ingredients would be delicious:
Sausage, Tomatoes, Diced Potato, Leeks, Kale, Bacon, Parsley, Corned Beef, Rutabaga
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