Winter Vegetable Soup
The Healing Power of a Home-cooked Meal
Winter Vegetable Soup | Dara O’Brien
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
On a recent visit to my sister’s house for dinner and I couldn’t help but notice she was making two of everything. Two roast chickens, two pots of rice, and way more roasted broccoli than the five of us could eat.
It turns out that her neighbor, Joan, is undergoing chemo and having a tough time of it. Once a week, my sister makes two dinners, one for her family, and one for Joan and her family.
It’s something we learned from my mother: if someone is feeling poorly, bring them food. Like when a friend of mine was recovering from surgery a few months back; I made her some beef stew. As she and her husband waited eagerly for my delivery they christened it Dara’s Meals on Wheels.
These days it’s easier than ever to get takeout (especially when you live in a city), but there’s a healing power to a home-cooked meal and the love and good wishes that come with it.
I had a chance to put that to the test after making this veggie soup. The recipe is by Catherine Walthers from her handy little book “Soups + Sides,” published by Lake Isle Press. Many of her soups, including Carrot-Ginger, Quick French Lentil, and Potato Leek, are keepers for me. This one will be, too.
I am gluten-sensitive, so I didn’t add barley—or any other grain to the pot. Since they tend to absorb extra liquid over time and I knew I wouldn’t eat it all right away, I chose to add grains to the soup when I served it. First I tried pre-cooked quinoa. It was quite good, but since quinoa can disintegrate in soup rather easily, you should consume it in a timely manner. I didn’t need another deadline in my life and decided to switch to pre-cooked brown rice for the rest of it. The only other alterations I made to this recipe were to substitute chicken broth for half of the water (even though I used Parmesan rinds) and green cabbage instead of Savoy.
I prepared the soup figuring I’d eat some over the next few days and freeze the rest. I had a first bowl, then put the remainder in the fridge while still in the pot to let the flavors meld overnight. Before I had a chance to portion it out the next day I heard from two friends in quick succession: one who was down with pneumonia and one who had a case of Covid.
So this soup recipe quickly earned a featured slot on my Meals on Wheels menu. And it will serve very nicely, indeed. It’s tasty and hearty enough to make for a light, nourishing meal—in other words, it’s good for what ails you. I just left some at the doors of both ailing friends along with sides of brown rice and some homemade cookies. Let the healing be swift!
It’s just a few simple steps once all the prep is done, but the chopping and dicing up front can be time consuming. I’m more than willing to put the time in for myself—aren’t we all worth it? But once I determined that most of this batch was going to people in need of a little TLC, the prep time mattered even less. More often than not, there is no more precious gift we can offer one another than our time. And a few extra cookies.
WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP WITH BARLEY RECIPE
Click here for printable recipe.
Chock full of vegetables and barley, this soup gets a nice flavor from the addition of Parmesan rinds during cooking, plus the fresh herbs at the end. You can cut the rind off a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or check out your cheese department, which sometimes sells the rinds together in a container. If Parmesan rinds are unavailable, you can substitute a quart of chicken broth for the water to help flavor the soup. If you have basil pesto, you can add a dollop of that into each soup bowl instead of chopping the parsley and basil. Freeze any leftovers.
Serves 10
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small whole leeks (use all but tough green parts), trimmed, cut in half lengthwise, rinsed, and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)
2 medium stalks celery, trimmed and diced (about 1 cup)
2 cups thinly shredded Savoy cabbage (optional)
10 cups water, plus more if needed
½ cup pearl barley, rinsed
2 medium Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rinds
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup ½-inch pieces green beans
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
⅓ cup minced fresh parsley
½ cup chopped fresh basil
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, to taste
PREPARATION
In a soup pot over medium heat, sauté the onion in olive oil until golden and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the leeks and garlic and sauté a few minutes more. Add the carrots, celery, cabbage, water, barley, Parmesan rinds, oregano, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.
Add the zucchini, green beans, and tomatoes and juices; bring to a simmer again and continue cooking on medium-low until the barley is tender, about 20 minutes more.
Remove the Parmesan rinds and discard. Adjust the seasonings, adding more salt if necessary. Add the fresh herbs. Ladle soup into bowls, and add a spoonful of Parmesan cheese.
Recipe from “Soups + Sides” by Catherine Walthers, Lake Isle Press, 2010
Winter Vegetable Soup With Barley Recipe
from “Soups + Sides” by Catherine Walthers, Lake Isle Press, 2010
“People are returning to real foods, locally grown—encouraging cooking that reflects ingredients in season.” —Catherine Walthers
A companion to Walthers’s popular “Raising the Salad Bar,” this handy cookbook is an expertly compiled collection of playful yet elegant recipes for soups that are made with fresh ingredients and are just right for any meal or occasion. Whether you mix and match your favorite soups and sides or enjoy them separately, it will dare you to think beyond the everyday and pull you out of your soup slump.
OTHER RECIPES FROM THIS BOOK
Beef Stew Recipe
Carrot-Ginger Soup Recipe
Cheddar Biscuits Recipe
Classic Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Honey-Dijon Salmon Bites Recipe
Minted Honeydew Soup with Lime Spice Cookies Recipe
Potato-Leek Soup Recipe
Quick French Lentil Soup Recipe