Mushroom Toasted Barley Vegetable Soup – Winter Meets Its Match

Mushroom Toasted Barley Vegetable Soup – Hearty, Umami-Rich, Chunky, Colorful

When you read of cold winter temperatures in the forecast, make a big batch of nurturing, deeply flavorful Mushroom Toasted Barley Vegetable Soup. You’ll be sooo glad you did. A key to this soup’s deliciousness is the easily made, umami-rich and intensely flavored mushroom stock. The toasted barley adds a nutty flavor and silken texture. And the last-minute addition of mixed greens brightens its color and freshens the flavor. A soup to make today and for many winter days to come.

Pearl or pearled barley

Processed to remove its fibrous outer hull, pearl barley cooks in about 30 minutes into a slightly chewy, creamy-textured grain.

Lightly toasting pearl barley adds a nuttiness to its somewhat neutral flavor.

Add unrinsed pearl barley directly to soups and stews when you want both its light thickening action and the creaminess that it adds to the broth.

Crimini mushrooms

Ranked by The World’s Healthiest Foods as both a good source of vitamin B12 and their only ranked non-animal source of B12. Crimini mushrooms are also a good to excellent source of many other B vitamins, minerals and macronutrients.

And, all that nutrition comes along with crimini’s being a rich source of umami: savory, indescribable deliciousness.

Another winter barley soup to enjoy

Root Vegetable Barley Soup starring nutrient-rich celeriac along with parsnips, rutabagas and onions.

Mushroom Toasted Barley Vegetable Soup

A hearty and most satisfying winter soup. Dairy-free and vegan.

Makes 12 Cups                                                     Printer-Friendly Recipe
Total Time   90 minutes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 ¼ pounds crimini mushrooms, stemmed
1-ounce dried mushrooms, rinsed in warm water
2 cups ¼-inch diced yellow onion
2 cups ⅓-inch diced carrot
2 cups ⅓-inch diced celery
1 cup pearl barley
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
2 teaspoons sea salt
12 twists freshly ground pepper
2 bay leaves
3 cups packed mixed baby greens, i.e., kale, chard, spinach, mizuna
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Prepare the Mushroom Stock: Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the mushroom stems and 4 halved cremini mushroom caps. Cook until tender and the crimini begin to glisten and release their juice. Add the dried mushrooms and 11 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pan and cook at a simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the stock pressing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Combine strained stock with water until you have 9 cups. Set aside.
2. Heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot over medium low heat. When hot, stir in the diced onion. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Raise the heat to medium-high. Stir in the diced carrot and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the barley, stirring more frequently, until it begins to color, about 7 minutes.
4. Toss the vegetables with the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Add the sliced mushrooms. Sauté for about 5 minutes until tender and glistening.
5. Add the bay leaves and the 9 cups of reserved mushroom stock. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat so the soup simmers with the pot partially covered. Simmer about 30 minutes or until the barley is very tender.
6. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the mixed baby greens. When tender, stir in the balsamic vinegar and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve Mushroom Toasted Barley Vegetable soup garnished with the chopped parsley.

Printer-Friendly Recipe.

Note: After simmering the dried mushrooms for 20 minutes to make the intensely flavored and deeply colored mushroom stock, I tasted them. They had no flavor left. So, I chose not to use them in the soup.

If you would like to use them, I’m guessing that you could finely chop them in a food processor, or perhaps give them a whirl in a blender with some of the stock. In either case, you could then stir them into the soup during the last 5 minutes or so of cooking. Do let me know if you try this and what you think.