Creamy lemon barley vegan Soup-e Jo

Soup-e Jo
It was a week of festival and bakes. Though we have worked heavily on keeping all the sugar away,  we just needed to lighten up and feel it today. To lighten up my load, I just want to make that one bowl of nourishing soup to feed the entire family, with no extra effort. So for today, we have Turkish style Soup- e Jo.
Soup-e jo is a Turkish barley soup. My affinity for Turkish- Meditteranean food takes me quite often to that part of the cuisine as much as I do comfort Indian cuisine. The creamy nature of the soup with hearty barley is what attracted me to this recipe. I first had Soup-e Jo at a restuarant…casually coz it simply said lemon barley soup. So I asked for a vegetarian portion of it and received an amazingly creamy barley soup with two small falafels to compensate for the lack of protein!! To be honest, I didn’t want the falafel along with it..the soup was great on its own.
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Barley

Getting it creamy

Following that, for a very long time, it amazed me how they got the creaminess with all that lemon and still have the smooth texture. how come it never curdles when you add lemon and cream. I tried all my versions of blending and mixing till one day I just added some leftover white sauce to it…just because I wanted to clean up the fridge. Viola!!! That was the magic. The roux was the one creaming it all so well and holding it together.
Now, you know this trick, so I have additionally added the recipe for vegan almond milk bechamel with it, just for you. Any kind of bechamel or white sauce will work. If you have a few tbsp of cheese sauce, that will work too, but I kind of stay away from the cheese as it really does not need any.
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Soup E Jo

The little touches that make it even better

  • You will also notice that there is no added garlic in this Soup-e Jo recipe..that’s because my garden was overflowing with garlic scapes which I wanted to add. If you don’t have any garlic scapes add on some garlic along with the shallots early on.
  • I have used olive oil to saute the veggies and then topped it off with a salad grade olive oil which is mixed with the herbs. I feel this addition elevated the smoothness of the soup.
  • The carrots can be swapped with sweet potato or pumpkin but nevertheless..it is not the exactly the same.
  • If you can get the turmeric roots, grate them in fresh with the garlic and it has a mindblowing difference to the flavour and colour. This time I didn’t have any.
  • For a leaner soup, skip the Bechamel altogether.
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bloghop
This Soup-e Jo recipe is submitted to the 162 Foodie Monday #lemonaffair, coz it is truly a balance of creaminess and lemon comfort.
Watch out my FB page @mildlyindian for the entire collection this week. See you again in a couple of days.
Related content Lemon Macaroni
Soup-e Jo

Turkish Soup-e Jo

Creamy lemon barley vegan soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Soups and salad
Cuisine Baby toddler food, Continental, diabetic friendly, Fusion, International, Kids choice, middleeastern, One pot, Pressure cooker, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter
Servings 6 people
Calories 219 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the main body of the soup

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large shallot minced fine
  • 1 cup carrots diced or shredded
  • 200 gram barley pearled.
  • 8 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 large lemon juiced
  • 1/4 tsp lemon zest

for the Vegan Bechamel

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • salt to taste
  • crushed black pepper

toppings

  • 1 tbsp garlic scapes
  • lemon sliced
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil salad grade

Instructions
 

For the soup

  • Into a soup pan add the olive oil and minced shallots (garlic if using).
  • Once they are translucent, add the carrots and saute.
  • Saute for a couple of minutes and add the barley
  • Add the stock and set for cooking.
  • Once the barley is nearly done, add the lemon zest to infuse.
  • When the barley is cooked it will be soft to touch and the carrots nearly broken down.
  • Add the lemon juice and remove from heat.

for the Vegan bechamel sauce

  • Add the olive oil into a pan, followed by the whole wheat flour.
  • Make the two to form a roux, and mix till the raw smell is gone.
  • Add the almond milk a little at a time and whisk in till there are no lumps.
  • Slowly bring it to a gentle boil and simmer till the sauce thickens.

to serve

  • Ladle the soup into the bowl and stir in the bechamel. Check for Salt and pepper.
  • Add the garlic scapes and lemon slices.
    Soup E Jo
  • The soup is ready to serve.

Notes

The steps for the soup can be pressure cooked for ease. Add the zest and lemon juice when the pressure is released and the pressure cooker can be opened.
The bechamel can be avoided if you are looking for a leaner version.
 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 240gCalories: 219kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 507mgPotassium: 415mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5g
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The Girl Next Door
5 years ago

I love anything with lemon in it, soup included. This soup sounds so inviting! It is definitely something I would love to try out!   Thank you so much for the detailed recipe!

Mayuri Patel
5 years ago

A healthy and different kind of soup. I love how you’ve added barley and lemon to it. Good tips on how to make it creamy without the cream.Also love the alternate suggestions of some of the ingredients.

Poonam Bachhav
5 years ago

Love your healthy Innovative recipes Seema. This lemon flavored barley soup is no exception to it. Would love to give it a try . Thanks for the recipe notes.

Sujata Roy
5 years ago

Loved this healthy and delicious soup. Flavour of lemon definitely made it more delish. Superb share.

Saswati Hota
5 years ago

Barley and lemon go so well together…perfect healthy share

sasmita
5 years ago

Seema, this lemon flavored barley soup is such a healthy option to include in our diet dear !!! Awesome share 🙂

Baby Boomer Super Saver
5 years ago

This soup looks delicious! I’m a big fan of lemon flavor in food, I will try this recipe. Thanks for sharing it!

preethi'scuisine
5 years ago

This lemon flavoured soup sounds interesting.Bookmarking this healthy and wonderful recipe.

Sujata Shukla
5 years ago

Why have I never thought of barley in a soup? It makes such perfect sense, and the lemon must make it really tasty and refreshing! Love this share, Seema!

veena
5 years ago

I am bookmarking this right away. This is so inviting!!

Amrita
5 years ago

Wow recipe for a soup Seema! Something totally different!

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