Recipe

Mushroom Barley Soup

Ingredients

3 quarts chicken or mushroom stock
1 ¼ cups barley
6 dried shitake mushrooms
¼ cup olive oil
1 onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 garlic cloves
1 lb white mushrooms
Salt and pepper

Directions

Pour chicken or mushroom stock into a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley then reduce heat and simmer uncovered. Set your timer for 2:15 (2 hours 15 minutes).
While the soup simmers, place dried mushrooms in a separate small saucepan. Add 3 cups of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, remove the saucepan from heat and let the mushrooms soak for 20 minutes.
Drain the mushroom water. Reserve the mushroom water.
Chop the soaked, softened mushrooms into small pieces and reserve.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion to the skillet and sauté until softened.
Add the celery and carrots and sauté for 5 more minutes till everything is browning and starting to caramelize.
Add the soaked chopped mushroom pieces and crushed garlic, sauté for 2 more minutes.
Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the strained mushroom broth into the skillet, bring to a boil, stir. Cook for 2 more minutes until mixture is hot and bubbly. Add the contents of the skillet to the simmering stockpot with the broth and barley.
Without rinsing the skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Spread half of the sliced white mushrooms in a single layer at the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and turn the heat to high. Let the mushrooms sear without stirring.
After 2 minutes, stir the mushrooms continuously for another 1-2 minutes until they are seared golden brown and shrink to about half their size.
Pour the seared mushrooms into the soup pot. Heat the last 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet and repeat the process for the remaining mushrooms. Add the rest of the seared mushrooms to the soup pot, stir to blend all ingredients.
Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook uncovered until your timer goes off (2 hours 15 minutes total cooking time), or until the barley is completely tender and the soup is nicely thickened. Add water during the simmer if the soup becomes overly thick. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.