Light Coconut Cream Broccoli and Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 0.8 cup barley 
• 7 cups broccoli florets and stalks chopped
• 14 ounce coconut milk reduced-fat canned
• 2  celery stalks chopped
• 5 cloves garlic divided cut into slivers and
• 2 dashes ground nutmeg 
• 2 tablespoons ground pepper fresh black
• 1 cup milk 2%
• 1  onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon pepper flakes red
• 1 tablespoon sea salt 
• 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 3.3 cups vegetable stock low-sodium
• 3 cups water 

Equipment

• bowl
• sauce pan
• ladle
• pot
• blender
• kitchen towels

Directions

1. Bring the barley and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Drain and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir the onion and celery into the melted butter, place a cover on the pot, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add about half the garlic. Season with the black pepper, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and nutmeg. Return the cover to the pot and cook another 5 minutes.
5. Stir the broccoli, vegetable stock, and remaining garlic into the mixture and bring to a boil. Return the cover to the pot, reduce heat to medium, and cook another 15 minutes, stirring once.
6. Remove the pot from heat.
7. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the blender lid with a folded kitchen towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can puree the soup with a stick blender directly in the pot.
8. Return the soup to medium-low heat. Stir the coconut milk, 2% milk, and barley into the pureed soup; cover and cook until hot, 5 to 8 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with Asiago cheese and parsley to serve.