Mushroom Barley Soup

Name: Mushroom Barley Soup
Cuisine: European, Mediterranean
Ingredients: INGREDIENTS; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 3 cups sliced leeks, white and green parts only (2 large or 4 small); 2 large carrots, small diced; 2 large celery stalks, small diced; 1 tbsp minced garlic; 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves; 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes; kosher salt; black pepper; 1 oz dried mushrooms (porcini, chanterelles or morels); 2 cups stemmed and sliced baby bella (cremini) mushrooms; 2 cups stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms, or chopped maitakes; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 6-8 cups vegetable or chicken stock; 2 cups reserved mushroom stock (from rehydrating the dried mushrooms); 3/4 cup pearled barley (sub pearled farro); 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill or Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish; 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 4 cups of stemmed and chopped kale; sour cream or Greek yogurt, chopped dill or parlsey, lemon wedges, and/or crusty bread

4 steps

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 07:38:36 GMT

Ingredients

0 servings

2 Tbspextra virgin olive oil

3 cupsleeks

sliced, white and green parts only

1 Tbspminced garlic

1 Tbspfresh thyme leaves

chopped

½ tspcrushed red pepper flakes

kosher salt

black pepper

1 ozdried mushrooms

porcini, chanterelles or morels

2 cupsbaby bella mushrooms

stemmed and sliced, cremini

2 cupsshiitake mushrooms

stemmed and sliced, or chopped maitakes

1 Tbsptomato paste

½ cupdry white wine

6 cupsvegetable stock

or chicken

2 cupsmushroom stock

reserved, from rehydrating the dried mushrooms

¾ cuppearled barley

sub pearled farro

2 Tbspfresh dill

chopped, or Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish

2 Tbspworcestershire sauce

4 cupskale

Instructions

Step 1

prep time 15 min. cook time 60 min. serves 6-8

Step 2

FOR SERVING

Step 3

Place the dried mushrooms in a medium glass bowl. Pour two cups of very hot water over the top to submerge. Let them steep 15 minutes to rehydrate. Remove the mushrooms from the water to a chopping board with a slotted spoon and chop them up- reserve the liquid in the bowl! Pour the remaining mushroom “stock” through a coffee filter or very fine mesh sieve into a 2 cup measuring cup or another bowl to strain and set aside.

Step 4

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven or heavy stock pot. Add the leeks, carrots, celery, and 1 tsp salt and sweat the veggies until they are soft and have reduced by about half, 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic, pepper flakes, and thyme leaves and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Next, add the fresh and rehydrated dried mushrooms to the vegetables in the pot, season with a pinch more salt, and give them a big stir. Let them cook another 5 minutes, until they are beginning to brown and soften. Stir in the tomato paste and barley and cook 2 minutes more, stirring often. Pour in the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot and scrape any brown bits up with a wooden spoon. Let the wine reduce, then add 6 cups of vegetable stock, the reserved 2 cups of mushroom liquid, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper. Give the pot a stir, bring the mixture up to boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer the soup about 40 minutes, until the barley is tender (you may need to add more liquid as it cooks if the soup is getting too thick). Uncover the soup and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, dill or parsley and kale. Cook to wilt the kale for about 5-10 minutes more. Check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls garnished with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, some dill or parsley sprinkled on top, and a wedge of lemon on the side. Grab some bread and wine and enjoy!