dinner – Page 3 – What’s Cookin’ Good Lookin’?

Risoni Vegetable Bolognese

I had every intention of making a tomato and meatball soup today, I really did. But when push came to shove, I just could not be bothered rolling meatballs. Besides, right now, the idea of squishing other peoples’ food around in my hands sounds tone deaf, all things considered. But really, I just couldn’t be bothered, let’s be honest.

Instead, I dumped everything in one pot, at the advice of Nagi at Recipe Tin Eats. This isn’t her exact recipe – I upped the veggie intake, and cut back on the risoni a little, but the spirit of her recipe is there. And it’s perfect for those CBF kinds of nights. The whole ordeal took maybe 20 minutes, it’s made on staples/stuff I found in my fridge and cabinets (again, perfect for Corona-geddon), was tasty and comforting, and was gobbled up by everyone. It’s not like usual bolognese recipe, but the benefit of that is that you could pretty much throw anything into it and have it come up a winner. It’s one of those magical recipes. So I’m writing it down so that I don’t forget it!

Nagi’s recipe clocked in at 484 calories; mine is 400. Either way, it’s better than takeaway!

Ingredients

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

200g mushrooms, sliced

500g lean mince

700ml passata

2tbs Worcestershire sauce

3 cups chicken stock

2tsp dried parsley

2tsp dried oregano

1tsp dried thyme

1tsp dried basil

1tsp sweet paprika

cayenne pepper, to taste

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 cup risoni/orzo

60g baby spinach

salt and pepper, to taste

Grated parmesan cheese, to taste

Method

Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to a non stick pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft and golden.
Brown mince with onion mixture, breaking it up as it cooks.
Stir in passata, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, stock and zucchini. Bring to a simmer, add risoni and stir to distribute evenly.
Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the risoni from sticking to the bottom. As you get closer to the ten minute mark, you may need to stir more frequently.
Take off heat, stir in spinach.
Serve, topped with parmesan and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Grilled Kangaroo with Agrodolce sauce

Meat as rich and gamey as kangaroo just begs to be paired the syrupy sweet and sour cherry sauce, all sitting atop a bed of peppery leaves, and is simply a match made in heaven. Use a good wine for this one; you can taste it. I used a Pepperjack Cabernet Sauvignon, and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the bottle with the meal.

I need to give a big shout out to The Australian Womens Weekly Low Carb Clean Eating cookbook for this one. It’s been a fantastic source of inspiration since I bought it just after Christmas. I love it, because while it CLEARLY has a focus on clean eating, low carb recipes, it doesn’t bemoan missing anything. It celebrates what the recipes DO showcase, and gets the reader excited about the ingredients that are in the recipe, not what could be in there if it weren’t focused on clean eating. I really appreciate that, and find a lot of clean eating books/websites follow a similar tone, which is great. It makes healthy eating so much easier when your resources are proud of what they are, and don’t apologise for not being something else, or over compensate for anything. In a world of detoxes and punishing people for loving food, it’s refreshing.

There are so many recipes from this book that will make it on here, because I’ve only come across one or two so far that aren’t amazing. But I always adapt to suit myself, so I’ll be posting them here so that I don’t forget what I’ve been doing. For example, I used pretty much all the ingredients from the book to make this sensational kangaroo dish, but mine looks absolutely NOTHING like the recipe suggests. But, oh, the taste! The flavours are beyond anything I’ve ever made in my kitchen before. So complex and deep, it’s the best thing I’ve cooked this year.

serves 4 (400 calories per serve)

Ingredients
800g kangaroo filet, marinated in 2tbs olive oil for 30 minutes if not bought pre-oiled
1tbs olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
300g cherries, pitted (feel free to use frozen or canned)
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup good red wine
1tbs honey very good quality golden syrup or honey
60g baby spinach, washed
¼ large red cabbage, thinly sliced

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. In a frypan, heat oil on medium heat and cook onion and capsicum until softened but not coloured – about 8 minutes.
Add cherries, wine, vinegar and honey/golden syrup and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 8 minutes.
Heat a grill pan on high and cook kangaroo for 2 minutes. Transfer to oven tray and roast for 8 minutes while the agrodolce sauce simmers away. Stir occasionally.
Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, increase agrodolce sauce to high until it reduces and is thick and syrupy – about 3 minutes. While it is bubbling away, reheat the grill pan and stir fry the cabbage until softened, but not soggy or losing its purply hue – no more than 1 minute.
Arrange plate with baby spinach and cabbage, top with kangaroo meat and drizzle with the agrodolce sauce.
Serve with a good crack of black pepper, and sprinkle of salt, and a glass of the remaining wine.

IDGAF Rice

We’ve all had those days, haven’t we, where you just don’t give a f&*k anymore. About anything, least of all dinner. Stuff it. Popcorn and icecream is totally a balanced meal, yeah? Corn’s a vegetable AND a grain, ice cream’s a dairy, and if there happens to be boysenberries rippled through it, there’s your fruit! Done. Surely it works that way?!

I’ve touched on the fact that this year hasn’t been my best – I had a car accident that we were (thankfully) able to walk away from, but my anxiety disorder shot through the roof, and it took a good two or three months to calm myself down and be a functional human again. I’m glad to say that through this really stressful time – made worse by the fact that poor mental health can be so invisible… I look like I have my wits about me, and I really didn’t have too much to be anxious about, but that fact just made the anxiety worse because it compounded the guilt of daily panic attacks – I didn’t emotionally eat too badly, didn’t gain any weight, and managed to get nutritious food on the table for my family most nights (although I phoned it in waaaaay more than normal). I credit this very low bar of success to already having a strong arsenal of healthy recipes at the ready at all times, and I really wanted to give credit due to this particular recipe, which got me through a particularly rough day. I cooked and ate this, cried in the shower for 15 minutes, then fell asleep for 15 hours. I was DONE. But my kids didn’t have Weetbix for dinner, and I clung to that win like you would not believe.

Even if you’re not having the day from hell, this speedy rice is a wonderful take on fast food. It’s pretty nutritious, clocks in at 351 calories per serve, and is so flavourful for such a throw-on meal. The perfect antidote to a lazy mood, a warm hug on a bad day, or a decent meal when things get busy, this bowl is here for you when you don’t – or can’t – have any more effs to give.

Serves 4

Ingredients

450g microwaveable rice

2 x 3 second spray of olive oil

150g sliced mushrooms

1 brown onion, sliced

1tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

1/2 head of broccoli, cut into small florets

Handful of baby spinach

4 eggs

for the dressing

1tbs white miso paste

2tbs mirin

1tbs kecap manis

1tsp minced ginger

Method

Microwave rice according to packet instructions. Set aside to cool slightly to avoid it going mushy.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
Place broccoli in a microwave-safe container and cover with water. Microwave for 2 minutes. Drain.
Heat one spray of oil in a medium sized fry pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions and cook for 5 minutes.
Add garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute until aromatic.
Transfer broccoli to onion mixture and stir to combine. Add soy sauce and allow to cook on medium-low heat.
Meanwhile, heat remaining oil over a clean frypan over high heat. When oil is hot, reduce to medium hear and crack eggs into pan. Lower heat to lowest setting and cook until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.
Add rice to vegetable mixture, and stir well to combine. Stir in spinach and dressing and transfer to four bowls. Top with an egg and season to serve.

Cabbage and Barley Soup

I overdid it this Easter. Like, really overdid it. So much so that I woke up this beautiful Easter Monday feeling terribly ill and with a pain in my belly that my husband was convinced was my appendix getting ready to burst. It wasn’t. It was just my body in revolt from the shocking way I’ve “nourished” it over the past couple of days. I’d entered the long weekend knowing that my usual rules were going out the window, and had every intention of getting back to my usual routine today. It’s always destined to be a Monday, right? However, my body thought it would help me be damned sure that I did in fact get back into it, by making me sick to my stomach at the mere thought of food.

After a few hours of feeling like total crap, I slowly, slowly started feeling better. By late afternoon, I was actually starting to feel hungry. I was craving vegetables and simplicity. But I also wanted a new-to-me dinner that was interesting, while not putting any stress on my somewhat ginger stomach. Nothing fatty, or rich, and in no way related to chocolate or cake.

Once again, I was relieved that I have an arsenal of recipes stored in My Fitness Pal, with the calories already calculated, links to the recipe, and my own adaptations noted. It REALLY makes life easier, especially when you don’t really have a clear idea of what you want. Scrolling through, I saw the link to Smitten Kitchen’s Cabbage and Farro Soup, and knew that I’d found what I’d be cooking tonight. I did make some changes – I added ginger, used red cabbage instead of green to give it a beautiful rich purple colour (Deb bemoans how beige her soup is, but using red cabbage yields quite a dramatic looking soup), swapped out the farro for the pearl barley I already had in my cupboard, and eliminated some of the oil, because you really don’t need quarter of a cup here. All in all, the results were fantastic, and I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow, when the barley has drunk the soup and it transforms into a whole new cabbage dish. I also used a whole – albeit tiny – cabbage, and discarded the core, as a matter of preference. That left me with more cabbage than the original recipe calls for, so I increased the ingredients by 150% , meaning it serves 6, rather than 4. Which is a blessing, because, like I said, leftovers. My take on the recipe yields servings of 222 calories each, and that includes the parmesan with which the soup is served.

Ingredients

1 x 3 second spray olive oil

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

3 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 small red cabbage, core removed, thinly sliced

1.5tbs red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup raw pearl barley

6 cups chicken stock

1tbs lemon juice

4tbs grated parmesan cheese

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan/stockpot over medium-low heat. Sweat onions for 5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add garlic and ginger, and stir to combine.
Add the cabbage over the top of the onion mixture and Cover pot with a lid. Steam the vegetables for 5 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt. Stir to combine.
Replace lid and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cabbage will be very tender, and sweet to taste.
Stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Be very generous with the pepper, as it complements the dish so well. Add barley and stir to combine.
Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for up to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
Serve in bowls. Top with parmesan cheese and another good crack of black pepper.

Winter Vegetable Soup with Parmesan and Spinach Dumplings

It’s finally cooling down, which means I can pull out my beloved red cast iron pot and whip out the comfort food recipes to help warm me up. Seriously, people joked that I would feel the cold after losing all the weight. They weren’t wrong. Last winter was miserable – I was ALWAYS cold and found it difficult to warm up. I’m hoping this winter, I will be more acclimated and less uncomfortable, despite being slightly smaller again.

It has to be said, that during the Winter months, I sometimes miss some of the heavier stews and casseroles that are suprisingly high in calories despite feeling like a wholesome bowl of goodness. Of course, rather than throwing in the towel and giving in to temptation, I’ve turned to searching for lighter, but equally comforting – recipes to fill the void. Some of them have been sad failures – watery, lame slop with little flavour and no texture. Some – like this awesome “stoup” (soup so thick that it’s almost a stew) adapted once again from Taste – bring joy to my cold self. It’s only 423 calories, and fills the cravings for veggies, bread, cheese and potatoes, making it the perfect winter staple. And unlike many winter warmers, it doesn’t take hours and hours… it’s done in less than an hour. Just to add one more tick to the boxes, this soup is also vegetarian if you use the correct parmesan.

Serves 6

Ingredients

dumplings

large handful baby spinach, shredded

1 1/2 cups flour

2tbs butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2/3 cup milk

Soup

2-3 second spray oil

1 brown onion, diced

1tsp minced garlic

1tsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried sage

2 carrots, diced

1 bulb fennel, diced

1 medium potato, diced

2 parsnips, diced

400g tinned tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

500g pumpkin, diced

Method

1. Combine spinach flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. In a jug, combine the rest of the dumpling ingredients and pour into the well. Mix gently until well combined. Roll into 15 balls and place on a clean, dry plate.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil and sweat onions over medium heat until translucent. Add nutmeg and paprika, stirring for 30 seconds until fragrant.

3. Tip in all vegetables except for the pumpkin and stir to coat with the spices. Add tomatoes and stock, using the stock to clean out the tomato tin. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, until starting to soften. Stir every few minutes to prevent veggies from catching. Add pumpkin, and cook, covered, for a further 5 minutes, still stirring periodically.

4. Gently place the dumplings atop of the soup and lower the heat to medium-low. Cover again, and cook for 20 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked through. Serve garnished with fennel fronds.

Amelie’s Banana Choc Chunk Cupcakes

As with most kids who like to cook, Miss 7 loves baking, and that’s where her culinary career started – helping me make cakes and muffins. It’s simple and easy, and has a fabulous reward at the end – of course kids love it! However, Miss 7 isn’t really much of a cake person (unless we’re talking chocolate cake!), but she is an attention-loving person. She’ll shamelessly admit that she loves cooking, not for the end result, but for the credit. Chefs and their egos start young, it seems!

This recipe is pretty foolproof – remove the chocolate and the bananas, and you’re left with a moist and tasty basic cupcake recipe that you can pretty much add anything too. I can’t even remember where I found that particular recipe, but for the past 15 years or so, I’ve stayed pretty loyal to the flour, butter, egg, milk and sugar ratios, because it’s never failed, and everybody seems to love it. Then, a world of toppings and additions await, and the sky’s the limit.

I have calculated that the base cake recipe has 200 calories, so with the addition of the banana and chocolate, each muffin is about 240. I hesitate to become too technical with these because after all these years, I barely measure anything anymore. I tend to just estimate the calories of whatever I add to the base and call it a day. I mean, I’m not eating them when I’m being particularly fastidious about my food intake, anyway.

Makes 18 smallish cupcakes.

Ingredients

2 large bananas, peeled and broken into large pieces

125g butter

3/4 cup raw sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups self raising flour

1/4 cup mik

1/2 cup chocolate buttons (we used Nestle melts), chopped coarsely. There’s no reason you can’t use choc chips, but the large, uneven chunks have a charm of their own.

Method

Preheat oven to 180C and line 2 muffin pans with 18 patty cases.
Beat bananas until they form a soft mush – I use my stand mixer for this. Add butter, sugar and vanilla, and beat until well combined. The mixture will be very wet.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined.
Sift flour into mixture and stir gently to combine.
Gently fold in choc chunks.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes, or until an insterted skewer comes out clean.

Deluxe Greek Salad

There’s really no other way of saying it – Summers in Sydney suck. It’s not just hot – it’s scorching, muggy and unrelenting down here in Satan’s armpit.

Not exactly the best conditions for food-spiration. Who wants to turn on the oven or stove when it’s been 40 degrees for weeks on end? But also, who wants another bloody salad?

That would be me.

There’s no such thing as too many salads. Salads are magical. However, I do feel the need to change it all up a bit. While I could eat salad five nights in a row, it cannot be the same salad. Hence all the varieties on this blog, with more to come, I can guarantee it.

I’m really rather partial to this particular salad, as it takes all of 5 minutes to make, barely uses any heat, and is hearty enough that you don’t need to serve it with bread, although nobody would fault you if you did. It’s a 250 calorie salad, 329 with the dressing. As I’m not a huge fan of salad dressings or vinaigrette, I usually skip it altogether, but I am well aware that I am an anomaly in this situation.

serves 4

Ingredients

1tsp olive oil

500g heart smart diced lamb

Salt and pepper, to taste

150g mushrooms

60g baby spinach

1 yellow capsicum, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

250g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 small beetroot, roasted (or, purchased pickled), cut into small chunks

60g feta

Dressing

1tbs olive oil

1tbs lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2tsp brown sugar

Method

To make dressing, place ingredients in a small jug and whisk to combine.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Season meat with salt and pepper. Add meat and mushrooms to pan, and stir occasionally until lamb is cooked to your liking.
Combine all other ingredients except for feta together in a large bowl.
Add lamb and mushrooms. Sprinkle with crumbled feta.

Cheese and French Onion Meatloaf

I’ve never really considered myself a meatloaf fan (pause to wait for my father in law to make a joke about how he really enjoyed Bat out of Hell…), and can count on two hands the number of times I’ve cooked one, with fingers to spare. Apart from my turkey and apple meatloaf (which I really should include here, as it’s pretty divine), I generally find meatloaves stodgy and a whole lot of effort for not a whole lot of reward. Nobody’s ever complained about the lack of meatloaf in our lives, so I’ve never really thought about it.

However, the other night, the hubby and I were curled up watching something or other, and the characters were eating meatloaf. After 10 years of marriage, I didn’t even need to glance over to know that he was giving me “the look”. No, not that one. The “why are they eating something delicious, and I’m not?” look.

So, I went hunting for a meatloaf recipe. I’m a good wife like that. But not just any old loaf. It had to be Something Different. Not just a big dry meatball with some barbecue sauce concoction glazed over it. Something I would be excited to make, and, knowing that meatloaf is generally a more calorically dense kind of meal, something that would be what I considered worth it. 2 slices of this bad boy is 390 calories, but the slices are generous, and there’s absolutely no reason (except for how good it tastes) that you couldn’t have 1 slice and fill up on veggies. In fact, that’s exactly what I did. Bonus to this – more leftovers! Like most of its ilk, this is possibly even better the next day.

It didn’t take too long. I had to sift through a gazillion recipes, because everybody has their own spin on this classic, but once I saw this on Taste (yes, again! I have so many wonderful cookbooks, but I do love this website for midweek meals!), I knew this was The One. Promises of sweet, jammy onions, a cheesy crust, and mustardy meat suckered me right in. I adore the sum of its parts, and the whole is even better. It just… works. And, the house smells amazing while it’s cooking away. For such a easily cooked meal, the results are spectacular!

Serves 6, generously

Ingredients

3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs

2tbs milk 4 brown onions 1kg beef mince (resist the urge to go lean for this, it just falls apart!)

35g sachet salt-reduced French onion soup mix

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tsp olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

50g gruyere cheese, grated

Gravy, to serve (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Line base and sides of a large loaf tin with baking paper, allowing for some overhang.
Grate one of the onions (or stick it in the food processor). Combine it with mince, breadcrumbs, milk, soup mix, garlic, mustard, egg and parsley in a large bowl. Season with pepper (you really don’t need more salt). Mix well to combine.
Press mixture into the prepared pan, using a spatula to make sure it is compact and level. Bake for 1 hour, until meatloaf is firm and juices run clear.
When the meatloaf has been in the oven for 40 minutes, thinly slice remaining onions. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until softened. Add sugar and balsamic vinegar. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion is caramelised.
Remove meatloaf from oven. Carefully drain excess pan juices, and lift the meatloaf out of the tin using the baking paper, transferring onto a baking tray. Trim paper so it doesn’t stick up – you want the edges to brown a little more in the last cooking. If the baking paper won’t support the weight of this step, just carefully turn meatloaf, top-side up, onto a baking paper-lined baking tray.
Top meatloaf with cheese and caramelised onion. Bake for a further 15 minutes or until cheese has melted. Stand for 5 minutes. Cut into slices. Serve with gravy, mashed potato and vegetables.

Bulgogi Beef Bowl

Okay, kids, confession time. There is very little about this dish that is authentic. Well, it does have beef, so I guess that’s a start…

But you know what? It might take 15 minutes to cook, call microwavable rice, and be as far from authentic Korean as humanly possible, but nobody complained tonight about that. In fact, things almost came to blows when it came to calling dibs on leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

It’s stupidly simple, but more importantly, it’s just really, really tasty. The meat is sweet and warming, the veggies are crunchy and delicious, the rice offers a carby hug that reaches your soul, and the chilli gives everything a nice kick. Of course, the chilli is entirely optional, but it gives a balance that I personally wouldn’t want to mess with. At less than 400 calories a serve, it’s a great comfort meal without going nuts. It’s full of veggies and good stuff, and you absolutely can omit the brown rice if you so desire (although, happiness for me is knowing that I don’t have to anymore!) without sacrificing the flavour.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 tbs olive oil

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

200g mushrooms, sliced

2tsp minced ginger

1tsp minced garlic

500g lean beef mince

2tbs honey

3tbs soy sauce

2tbs rice wine vinegar

1/4 green cabbage, shredded

1/4 red cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, grated

150g snow peas, thinly sliced

250g microwave brown rice (or 250g cooked brown rice, of course. But the instant rice is just too convenient for me to ignore for a recipe as quick and easy as this!)

1 small, thinly sliced chilli, to serve

1 spring onion (shallot), thinly sliced, to serve.

Method

Heat oil in a frypan over low-medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened.
Add garlic, ginger and mince to pan and brown for 5 minutes, stirring often to break up meat and cook evenly.
Stir in honey, soy and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, and cover.
In a clean frypan, sauté cabbage, carrots and snow peas for 2 minutes, until starting to wilt but not completely soft.
Meanwhile, cook rice according to packet directions (begin cooking raw rice at the very start of this recipe if not using microwave rice).
Divide rice into bowls. Top with meat and vegetables, and garnish with chilli and spring onions.

Miso Barley Soup

I’m sure I’ve waxed lyrical plenty of times about how much I love soup, but oh my God, I LOVE soup. Scrap that – I love hearty, warming, sticks-to-your-ribs soup. You’re extremely unlikely to catch me with a thin, watery cup of powdered soup anywhere near my lips, but if I could swim in a thick homemade soup, I would happily dive in.

I also have this weird obsession with pearl barley. Is it weird to have a favourite grain? It’s chewy, tasty, filling, low calorie, healthy and lends a sense of nostalgia that makes absolutely no sense, seeing as though I don’t remember ever eating it as a child. I guess it’s just comforting.

This miso barley soup combines three of my very favourite foods. And while it takes a while to cook, the most labour intensive part of it is chopping the vegetables. It’s a forgiving, undemanding recipe that’s perfect for those cold winter nights where you have plenty of time, but don’t want to spend it slaving over the stove.

I was a little shy about this recipe, although I have no idea why. So, I made chicken to go with it. I’m usually of the opinion that soup is a meal unto itself, but there was something holding me back. Perhaps concern that my family would find it unfilling, or bland? Neither was the case, however, a couple of honey soy roasted chicken drumsticks absolutely lifted this soup to a whole new level. Eaten separately, or thrown into the soup – either ways works a complete treat. Sans chicken, the soup is a diet-friendly 246 calories, and assuming that you’re using regular chicken legs and those of not some mutant giant bird, you can allow for about 103 calories per drumstick.

Ingredients

2tsp olive oil

3 celery sticks, diced

2 large carrots, diced

1 brown onion, diced

3tsp minced garlic

1tbs minced ginger

1/2 cup pearl barley

5 cups water

2tbs white miso paste

400g edamame beans, podded

2tsp soy sauce

Method

Heat oil in a large, heavy based saucepan (a cast iron pot is perfect!) over low heat. Add diced vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened and onions are sweating.
Add garlic and ginger, and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
Mix in barley. Add water and miso paste, and stir well to combine paste.
Increase heat to high to bring to the boil. Reduce to medium low, cover and cook for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent grains from sticking to the bottom.
Add edamame and soy sauce, cover, and cook for a further 8 minutes.