Mushroom Barley Soup
by Ellen Kanner
This comfort classic requires minimal ingredients and effort and offers big rewards. The mushrooms themselves offer deep, rich flavor, and all kinds of immunity-boosting benefits, besides. It’s filling, nourishing, a perfect soup for the winter blahs.
Ingredients
1 ounce (roughly 1 cup) dried mushrooms, preferably organic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 cup pearl barley
8 ounces (1/2 pound) fresh mushrooms, preferably organic, wiped clean and chopped
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pour the dried mushrooms into a large pot. Bring 6 cups of water to boil. Pour the boiling water over the dried mushrooms. This will become the broth for your soup, and will soften the dried mushrooms, as well.
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once it starts to shimmer, add the minced garlic and chopped carrots. Sauté vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to brown—about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the barley and the fresh mushrooms.
- Strain the broth from the dried mushroom water and add to the pot. Bring it to boil.
- Chop the softened dried mushrooms, and add them to the pot. Drop in the bay leaf. Give everything a sit.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. The barley will have swelled and become plump and tender. Remove the bay leaf.
- Season with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Stir and serve!
Notes
- If the barley continues to drink up all the broth, thin soup with an additional cup of water or vegetable broth.
- Serves 4 to 6.
- Find more of Ellen’s recipes at Soulful Vegan and follow her on Facebook.

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