Curry Vegetable Barley Soup

This recipe was my introduction to rutabaga. I’d never had it before or could even say exactly what it looked like. Rutabaga is thought to be a hybrid of a turnip and a cabbage. Nutty and sweet with a mild flavor, rutabagas, it turns out, can be roasted, sautéed, baked, fried, boiled, mashed, and added to soups and stews. They can also be eaten raw as a snack or grated into salads or coleslaw. I had extra left over from making this soup, so I ate some raw and grated some into salads. Mashed, they complement potatoes, onions, and carrots, butter and salt and make a hearty, warming dish.

This soup is a hearty can be made with or without the curry and it will taste good. Add the curry if you like it hot, increase it if you like it even hotter.

4 tsp olive oil

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp Thai red curry paste

4 cups cubed peeled rutabaga

4 cups peeled winter squash

½ cup pearl barley

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

340 g mushrooms, sliced

3 cups packed fresh baby spinach

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp lime juice

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat half the oil over medium heat; cook onion, carrot and celery, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 8 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger and curry paste; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in rutabaga, squash, barley, salt and pepper and 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until barley is tender, about 40 minutes.

Using immersion blender (or transfer to a blender in batches), purée until smooth. If using blender, return to pot.

Meanwhile in large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until golden and no liquid remains, about 8-10 minutes.

Stir in mushrooms, spinach, cilantro and lime juice into soup. Cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving):

Protein 6 g

Fat 5 g

Carbohydrate 37 g

Fibre  8 g

Sodium 437 mg

Potassium 951 mg

% RDI:

Calcium 12%

Iron 22%

Vitamin A 161 %

Vitamin C 62 %

Folate 32 %