Winter memories and frugal goodness: Mushroom Barley Soup

Fresh and dried mushrooms add earthy deliciousness to this filling, satisfying winter soup. Recipe below.

Wintertime when I was a kid in Detroit meant big, hearty, warming dishes—things simmered for a long time over low heat, calming and filling. Pot roasts perfuming the whole house with beefy oniony aromas, braising chickens and, of course, a battery of soups.  Borscht, potato and dill, and my personal favorite, my mother’s mushroom barley soup. For our little careful working class Detroit home, it hit all the necessary markers—aromatic, tasty, filling and, of course, thrifty.

This is very much like my mother’s recipe of yore. Using a mix of fresh and dried mushrooms (which is what my mother always did) gives a fuller, richer flavor. Using quick-cooking barley gives you a delicious meal faster and with lower energy use—my parents would have approved. Quick barley, let me add, has a pleasant soft-chewy texture and still offers plenty of fiber.

This recipe can be multiplied. It tastes better the next day. It freezes beautifully. It looks and smells great. It is economical. In short, add it to your arsenal. You’ll use it often.

Mushroom Barley Soup
Serves 4 generously

1/2 cup dried mushrooms, or more if you wish (see Kitchen Notes)
1 cup hot water (to soak the dried mushrooms)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion (see Kitchen Notes)
3 or 4 carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup quick cooking barley
6 cups chicken stock (more, if needed)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour the cup of very hot water over them to cover. Let soak for 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a big heavy bottomed pot over a moderate flame. Sauté the onion and carrot about three minutes, then add in the fresh mushrooms and bay leaves and sauté everything three or four more minutes.

Stir in the barley and stock. Drain the soaking dried mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and add those mushrooms to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. At this point, add two to four tablespoons of the soaking liquid to the stock—go easy! A little bit gives this a deeper, earthier flavor, but too much leaves a flavor of cardboard.

Simmer gently for about 20 to 30 minutes, adding more stock if necessary, until the barley is tender. Season with salt and pepper, discard the bay leaves, and you are ready.

Kitchen Notes

Dried mushrooms. Most recipes call for dried porcini. For this dish, I used dried boletes, which are the ones that tend to be available in Polish markets. You can also mix it up—dealer’s choice.

Fresh mushrooms. I used baby bellas, but again, go with dealer’s choice. But the point of this dish is modest price as well as deliciousness. Maybe you’ve got some lovely chanterelles or morels.  Don’t—do not—use those in this recipe.

Onion. This recipe uses red, but any regular onion is fine.

Herbs. If you wish, you can add fresh or dried thyme or sage, or finish this with a bit of fresh chopped parsley or dill.

Storing in the fridge. This may thicken up overnight as the barley continues to absorb liquid. Loosen things up with a bit of stock or water.