Hearty lamb & barley soup

Hearty lamb & barley soup

This Lancashire hotpot in soup form is nourishing and filling, but low in fat

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 mins

Freezable

Low-fat, Dairy-free

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Season the lamb, then fry for a few mins until browned. Add the onion and barley, then gently fry for 1 min. Add the veg, cook for 2 more mins, then add the Worcestershire sauce, stock and thyme. Cover, then simmer for 20 mins.
  2. When everything is cooked, spoon about a quarter of the soup into a separate pan. Purée with a stick blender (or put into a normal blender and whizz), then stir it back into the rest of the soup. Add the green beans, simmer for 3 mins, then ladle the soup into bowls and serve with granary bread.

PER SERVING

258 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 26g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 4g, sugar 12g, salt 1.48 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, February 2009.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 21 January 2009

    Edwina commented on this recipe

    I can't get parsnips here in Germany so I used celeriac, leeks, onions, carrots, swede and potatoes. The soup was delicious and I will definately make it again, was more of a stew than a soup tho'.

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  • 27 January 2009

    skeckling rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    perfect for the winter months, with a stew-like consistency.

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  • 27 January 2009

    kiyma rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    delicious soup, and everyone loved it, though I had to cook over an hour for the pearl barley to get soft.

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  • 03 February 2009

    lyndsey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    really tasty meal even better warmed up the next day - peeling and chopping the root veggies seemed to take me a while but maybe thats just me!!

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  • 05 February 2009

    James rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Lovely recipe in the cold weather. More stew like than soup but it depends how much you whisk. Easy and very reasonably priced. Best with lots of crunchy bread and butter but maybe not making it low fat then!! All my family loved it.

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  • 05 February 2009

    Yvonne commented on this recipe

    used frozen prepared veg. blitzed more than stated. very tasty and filling. will make again

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  • 06 May 2009

    jeannie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Lovely !

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  • 20 August 2009

    Clare.Rose rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Quick & easy with chunky cut veg cooked for 90 mins & a rough mash before serving with wholemeal bread. Great stew!

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  • 13 October 2009

    paddygas rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • 27 October 2009

    thynk2much rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Gorgeous - made this with leftover already cooked lamb bits, which were perfect! The barley texture really made this a standout.

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  • 22 November 2009

    Rosita rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Really yummy. Have done this twice now - the pearl barley really makes it. Whizzing up some of the veg made the soup nice and thick with lovely chunky bits in as well. Lovely on a cold, rainy day.

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  • 31 March 2010

    milkyjohn commented on this recipe

    Really fantastic. Have only tried it once,but, I most certainly will be doing it again. Only problem was I didn't do enough of it.

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  • 13 September 2010

    Dawn Smith rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    easy to do, very tasty and surprisingly tender for short cooking time. did not blitz but served it as a stew. will do again

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  • 23 November 2010

    teapot rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I too found that the barley needed a bit longer than stated. This was really nice the next day as leftovers, more stewy and tender. Very filling as well, served with brown bread and butter.

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  • 28 December 2010

    PHIL rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My family absolutely love this dish, a real hearty meal.

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  • Binder photo woo

    23 April 2011

    woo rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This is a great and economical recipe, making a little lamb go a long way. However, I have found that it is better to cook the pearl barley for 10-15 minutes in a separate pan prior to adding it to the soup otherwise it is just too firm/undercooked based on the timings stated above. I'm also not too fond of swede so tend to just do extra of the potatoes, carrots & parsnip or add some peeled and diced celeriac. I normally serve this with good chunks of wholemeal bread.

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  • 30 August 2011

    emmclean rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious! I was worried about the cost of a meat like lamb in what I needed to be a cheap meal, but there was more than enough and it only cost a few pounds.

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  • 11 November 2011

    Vickiloulou commented on this recipe

    I doubled up on the ingredients and it fed 5 of us plus a spare bowl for Grandpa. A lovely winter soup packed with goodness. Easy to make too.

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  • 30 November 2011

    Ralavendrel rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic recipe, i dont like green beans so replaced with 600g of tinned butter beans...delicious.

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  • 14 December 2011

    Glenn Sharpe rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've now made this 3 times and its a really good meal that will fill the gap. I'm new to cooking and to be honest I burnt the first one as I didn't stir it enough so make sure you stir it a fair amount or the pearl barley can stick to the bottom, especially at the last stage where you blend a quarter of it up and add the green beans. I found that it is best to cook the beans separately and add cooked but continue to cook in the stew for the stated 3 minutes. I also tried with stewing lamb but as the cooking time isn't that long the meat came out tough so stick to the lamb neck fillet. Other than that i'm looking forward to making it again!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 mins

Freezable

Low-fat, Dairy-free

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 200g lamb neck fillet, trimmed of fat and cut into small pieces
  • ½ large onion , finely chopped
  • 50g pearl barley
  • 600g mixed root vegetables (we used potato, parsnip and swede, cubed)
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1¾ pint s 1 litre lamb or beef stock
  • 1 thyme sprig
  • 100g green beans (frozen are fine), finely chopped
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PER SERVING

258 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 26g, fat 11 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 4g, sugar 12g, salt 1.48 g

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