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Mushroom Barley Soup

Source of Recipe


From "Cooking for Comfort" by Marian Burros



List of Ingredients



• â…“ cup dried mushrooms, such as porcini
  
• 1 cup hot water
  
• 2 tablespoons oil
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 1 medium carrot, diced
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• ½ pound white mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and coarsely cut
  
• ½ pound shiitake, cremini, portobello, or other mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and coarsely cut
  
• ½ cup pearled barley
  
• 6 cups good-quality beef broth or stock
  
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  
• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
  






Instructions



1. Cover the dried mushrooms with the hot water and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop the mushrooms.
   
   
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed deep pot. Sauté the onion and carrot in the oil over medium heat until the onion begins to color. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the fresh mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften and begin to release their liquid.
   
   
3. Raise the heat, add the barley, and sauté until it begins to color slightly. Add the broth and sherry. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a fine strainer and add to the pot along with the reconstituted mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the barley is tender.
   
   Stir in the wine vinegar; adjust the seasonings and serve.
   
   Makes 6 or 7 cups
   
   






Final Comments


• The soup is even better if refrigerated overnight. The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for a month. Reheat to serve.

• The taste of this soup begins with the stock; the better the stock tastes, the better everything else will. Today at many specialty markets, you can buy high-quality beef stock that is rich and full-bodied without being salted to a fare-thee-well.

• It's not traditional, but adding wine vinegar to the soup gives it a sparkle.