Veggie Barley Stew with Cheezy-herby Dumplings

It’s less than two weeks until christmas, the ground is frosty and the air is crisp. I’m trying to keep my Christmas binge to Christmas Eve, Day, and Boxing day this year so I’ve been looking at coming up with warming, filling, yummy meals that feels luxurious but are still low in fat. If you want to reduce the fat in this recipe further then skip the dumplings. This serves 4 with the dumplings or 3 without them.

2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, sliced
2 large parsnips, sliced
1 medium leek, sliced
1/2 whole swede, diced
175g Pearl Barley, rinsed
1 ltr vegetable stock
1 tbsp shoyu
1 tsp miso
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp dried Parsley
1 Bayleaf
1 tsp vegetable/olive oil

Dumpling Mix:
100g Self-raising Flour
50g vegetable suet, grated
50g vegan cheese, grated
2 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme, lightly ground
2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh chives, chopped

Delicious Parsnip Soup

This recipe came about because I had some vegetables that needed to be used up and I had quite a few parsnips. I had made parsnip soup before but this has got to be the tastiest version I’ve ever had!

Parsnip Soup

5 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 medium leek, roughly sliced into rounds
1 small to medium potato, peeled and diced
1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
1.5 ltrs vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive/rapeseed oil
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
Sea Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Low-Fat Veggie Pasta Sauce

This is probably the easiest pasta sauce I have ever had but stills packs a flavourful punch.

1 medium bell pepper (any colour), roughly chopped
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tin tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
1 large courgette, sliced into rounds and quartered
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp olive oil
Salt & Fresh black pepper to taste

Fresh herbs: What do I do with the extra?

I don’t know about you but when I buy fresh herbs I usually end up with way more than I can reasonably use in the few days that it stays fresh. I have tried growing my own but I seem to have the touch of death when it comes to botany (I will keep trying though as I come from a family of farmers so it’s got to be in my blood somewhere, right?). Drying it seems pointless since I have a cupboard full of dried herbs and spices so I decided to try chopping it up then freezing it.

Now, I may just be a bit slow and you all already do this but SUCCESS!

Freezing those left over herbs means I always have “fresh” herbs to hand when I want them to cook with (not so good for garnish or uncooked recipes) without the waste of having more than I need lying around in my fridge. Plus the bags are really easy to refill when you’re getting low.

I’ve also found that if you suck out as much air as possible from the bags then frost is less likely to form inside the bags.