A Winter Warmer for Your Gut

My late granny was a great cook. I loved visiting her house and seeing her big cast iron pot sitting on the stove as I knew there would always be something delicious bubbling away inside. I inherited this wonderful pot and every winter I use it to make hearty soups and stews. It always brings back great memories of warm tummies filled with comfort food that was eaten together around the dining table.

This week I made a roasted vegetable soup in the family pot. Roasting the veggies really draws out the flavour and this winter recipe is a perfect family meal all on its own providing an abundance of different coloured vegetables as well as the different whole grain fibres found in the BARLEYmax kibble.

It’s a hearty, warm and delicious soup that’s perfect for a cold winter’s day….or night.

Ingredients

4 Roma tomatoes, cut in half
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, cut into quarters
1 red pepper, diced
3 zucchini, diced
1 small eggplant, diced
200g butternut pieces
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 litres vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
½ cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup BARLEYmax kibble
Chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat an oven to 200°C.
Spray a large roasting pan and arrange tomatoes cut side down in the pan. Along with the other vegetables. Drizzle the olive oil all over the vegetables and place in the oven. Roast for about 50 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Remove half the vegetables and process in a food processor until smooth.
Place the remaining vegetables into a large pot with the vegetable stock, mushrooms, bay leaf and kibble.
Simmer on a low heat for 45 minutes or until the kibble is softened. Then stir in the processed vegetables.
Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper as required. Add extra stock if the soup is too thick.

I hope you and your family enjoy this nutritious (and delicious!) winter warmer as much as mine do!