Recipes: Hearty lamb & barley soup

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

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

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.

NUTRITION PER SERVING:

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

100g green beans (frozen are fine), finely chopped

 source: bbcgoodfood.com