Tuscan Barley Soup with Turkey & Savoy Cabbage

Ingredients

• 900 g raw 93% turkey mince (2 lb)
• 25 g olive oil · 2 tsp fennel seed, lightly crushed · 1 tsp black pepper
• 200 g onion, diced · 250 g carrot, diced · 150 g celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 30 g tomato paste (2 tbsp)
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2–3 anchovy fillets (optional, they melt away)
• 150 g pearl barley
• 400 g canned tomato, no salt added
• 1.75 L water or low-sodium stock
• 6 thyme sprigs (or 1 tsp dried) · 2 bay · 1 parmesan rind (~60 g) · zest of 1 lemon
• 700 g savoy cabbage, shredded (next batch: 350–400 g — 700 g was more than the dish needs)
• 45 ml lemon juice · 30 g parsley, chopped · 40 g parmesan, grated · 15 g peppery olive oil

Method

1. Brown the turkey hard. Oil in a large pot (or Instant Pot, Sauté-More). Turkey in with the fennel seed and pepper; spread it out and leave it alone until it catches brown, then break it up. 8–10 min. This is where the sausage flavour comes from.
2. Onion, carrot and celery in. 8 min, until soft.
3. Bloom: garlic, anchovy, tomato paste and rosemary. Stir 1–2 min until the paste turns brick-red and the garlic is fragrant — stop before it colours.
4. Tomatoes, water or stock, barley, thyme, bay, parmesan rind and lemon zest. Simmer covered 35–40 min, until the barley is tender. Instant Pot: high pressure 20 min, natural release 10, then back to Sauté.
5. Cabbage in for the last 12 minutes only — longer and it goes grey and sulphurous.
6. Off the heat: lemon juice and half the parsley. Fish out the rind, bay and thyme stems. Taste; more lemon first, then salt a little at a time.
7. Serve: parmesan, rest of the parsley, a thread of good olive oil. Reheat with a splash of water — the barley keeps drinking. Keeps 5 days; freezes well.