Irish Farmhouse Soup

Name: Irish Farmhouse Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1/2 cup pearl barley; 7 cups vegetable broth or stock (or your favorite vegan broth or stock); 2 tablespoons neutral oil (like sunflower, grapeseed, canola); 1 large onion (chopped); 2 stalks celery (chopped); 2 carrots (peeled and diced); 2 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes); 1 leek (washed, halved, and thinly sliced crosswise); 2 bay leaves; fresh rosemary (leaves stripped from stem, chopped, optional); fresh thyme (leaves stripped from stem, chopped, optional); 1 tablespoon corn starch (for thickening the soup, optional); salt and pepper (to taste); fresh parsley (for garnish, optional)