Greening Austin Daily

Recipe Tuesday — Mushroom Barley Soup (the Feel Better Soup)

10th August, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments

I made this soup the other day as an alternative to chicken noodle soup when my stomach was a little upset . It was a little bland at first (which was desirable given my tummy ache), but I thought it could use a little something extra so I added some soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic powder. Although some of the mushrooms had sort of a chewy texture, the soup had an overall hearty, comforting taste and was just the right thing to make me feel better. The recipe is from How to Make Everything: Vegetarian Cooking.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 1/2 cup pearled barley
• 1/2 cup peeled and roughly chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup peeled and roughly chopped onion
• 1/2 cup peeled and roughly chopped celery
• 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, any kind
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup snipped fresh dill, minced chives, or minced parsley leaves

Directions

1. Put the water in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Add the barley, carrots, onion, and celery.
2. Turn the heat to low and partially cover; the mixture should be bubbling, but only a little. Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water to cover until tender (about 10 minutes), and clean, trim, and slice the fresh mushrooms.
3. Strain the soaked mushrooms; reserve their liquid. Add all the mushrooms to the simmering soup. Add the mushroom-soaking liquid to the soup. Simmer the soup for 30-45 minutes more, until the barley and vegetables are tender.
4. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in half the dill, chives, or parsley, then top individual servings with the remaining herb.