Light Coconut Cream Broccoli and Barley Soup

¾ cup barley

3 cups water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

5 cloves garlic, cut into slivers and divided

2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 dashes ground nutmeg

7 cups chopped broccoli florets and stalks

3 ¼ cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 (14 ounce) can reduced-fat coconut milk

1 cup 2% milk

¼ cup grated Asiago cheese

½ bunch fresh parsley, chopped

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. Drain and set aside.

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. 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.

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. Remove the pot from heat.

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.

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.