Mushroom Barley Soup

Tryin' to be a little more present, here on ye olde blog!

Here's some comfort food extraordinaire, perfect for a cold, winter's day. Spring is coming soon! But unfortunately, it's still not here.

So, warm yourselves with a hot, hearty helping of homemade ... soup. (No "h"-word for that, to keep up the alliteration!)

I'd never made Mushroom Barley Soup before, despite having eaten lots of it. It's so simple! It's so good!


Mushroom Barley Soup

Barley:
1-3/4 cups water
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup pearled barley

Soup:
2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 large celery stalk, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 large Portobello mushrooms, chopped
6 ounces white mushrooms, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
2-1/2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon kosher salt
generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
1 tablespoon soy sauce
sour cream, for serving

Prepare barley: In a small saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Stir in barley, cover, lower heat to simmer, and cook for 45 minutes, until water is absorbed and barley is just tender.

Prepare soup: Heat oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Add garlic, carrot, celery, and onion; cook for 2 minutes, until vegetables are becoming translucent. Add all the mushrooms and the red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, for 6-7 minutes until the mushrooms are browning.

Add broth, wine, salt, pepper, seasoning, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add barley and simmer for 30 more minutes.

Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream stirred in.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.