|
Mushroom Barley Soup
(adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
1 medium onion, diced
4 medium carrots, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
3-4 cups of cremini mushrooms, sliced
4-5 cups of mushroom broth (I made my own with some creminis I had from a couple months ago; they'd dried out so I tossed them in the freezer)
1 cup pearled barley
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
Bittman's original recipe calls for using fancy dried porcini mushrooms to start. I didn't have any and figured that it would probably just be fine with the creminis I had on hand. Fancy mushrooms are not needed for this soup to be good.
Saute the onion in a couple tablespoons of a fat of your choice (extra virgin olive oil and butter are both good here) in a Dutch oven or soup pot over low-medium heat. Add the carrot, and cook until softened. Turn down the heat and add the garlic. Add the sliced mushrooms, and turn the heat back up a bit. Cook until the mushrooms are just starting to give up their liquid. Add the barley, stir to coat the barley with the yummy goodness in the pot, and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Pour in the mushroom broth. Bring the soup to the boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook 20-30 minutes or until the barley is tender. Add the soy sauce and check the seasoning before you serve.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
|