Mushroom and Barley Soup
This soup is surprisingly quick to assemble and has a short cooking time. It’s surprisingly filling and makes a satisfying vegetarian meal.
Makes
Serving size
Ingredients
3 cups water
1 cup barley
2 generous tablespoons porcini or other mushrooms, dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon flour
8 cups beef broth or water
¼ cup Italian parsley, minced
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste (Optional)
2 teaspoons salt (Optional)
Instructions
- In a pot, bring the water to boil over high heat and cook the barley until softened.
- While the barley is cooking, soak the dried mushrooms in warm water until softened, about 15 minutes.
- Strain mixture through a funnel made from a paper towel and reserve the liquid.
- In a stockpot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, and fresh mushrooms. Sauté until softened, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir over low heat, incorporating into the veggies until the mixture is thickened.
- Slice the reconstituted mushrooms.
- Add the beef broth, mushroom liquid, mushrooms, barley and tomato paste (if using). Add salt, if desired, and simmer 8 minutes, or until soup is thickened.
- Garnish with chopped parsley in each bowl and serve.
Cooking Tip
Keep dried mushrooms on hand as a key pantry staple. This will ensure you can always make a nutritious soup or pasta sauce with a handful of ingredients during bad weather or when you are too busy to grocery shop.
Use water instead of beef broth in step 7 to make this recipe vegan.
Recipe contributed by FamilyCook Productions
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