Kohlrabi Soup for Steemit Fruits And Veggies Monday Contest

I'm back with another weird soup recipe but those of you who know me, also know that I'm full of surprises 😀

For this recipe, the main ingredient is kohlrabi, which is very popular in my country and not so popular elsewhere. It's a shame as this humble vegetable can be used for soup, pottage, salads and even raw, just like as you eat an apple. It's full of vitamins and hydrates you very well.

Today I'm going to share the soup recipe with you and I'll be back to share the pottage recipe and the stuffed version as well, if things go back to normal. During the lockdown I can't promise anything as we buy what we can get in the grocery store.

Ingredients

2 kohlrabi,
2 medium carrots,
2 medium onion,
paprika powder,
4 clove garlic,
small amount of celery (optional),
4 - 5 tbsp barley,
3 tbsp olive oil,
lovage in vinegar,
salt.

The Process

Chop the carrots and kohlrabi.

Heat the olive oil in a pot, add the carrots and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.

Add paprika powder, steer and add water immediately. Add the kohlrabi, onion, garlic, celery, barley, lovage and salt. Cover and cook till everything is tender, about 30 minutes or so. When it's ready, add vinegar.

Suggestions

If you don't like lovage, you can use basil, bay leaf, dill, tarragon or any herb you like.
You can use rice instead of barley.
Also you can add vegan sour cream or milk.

Nutritional Facts

I'd like to say a few words about the strange ingredient I'm using here, called barley. Although it's an ancient grain, it's not widely used.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Barley has been used as animal fodder, as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures. Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation.
In 2017, barley was ranked fourth among grains in quantity produced (149 million tonnes) behind maize, rice and wheat. source

I'm using it instead of rice. You can find it in most of the supermarkets and grocery stores but as I said, not many are using it as it's not "looking so good" as rice, because of the brown color.

Pearl barley has by far the lowest glycemic index of any grain ever tested. Its GI is 25. source

They say brown rice is healthier than white rice but let's compare the glycemic index of each and see what's the best.

White rice, boiled 73
Brown rice, boiled 68
Barley 28

I believe the numbers speak for themselves, there's no seed to spell it out that barley is the healthiest by far. The price for 1kg of barley is less than 1k of white rice, cooking time is just about the same, as about the flavor, it's not the same but it's good.

So why not use this healthy grain instead of using rice?

This is my entry to Hive (Steemit) Fruits And Veggies Monday Contest, hosted by my dear friend Lena, Hive account@lenasveganliving, with the collaboration of Hive account@vegansofsteemit, Hive account@plantstoplanks and Hive account@naturalmedicine.