This recipe is perfect for your sukkah! I first made it two weeks ago — and it turned out so well, that I made it again for Erev Sukkot.
Now you should know: I’m not a fan of mushrooms (it’s a texture thing!). But my family loves them — and they love soup. So after being asked by them to make mushroom barley soup, I relented.
And they loved it!
Minus the rubbery “chew” of the mushrooms, I actually loved it, too. The flavor was outstanding and thanks to my “partial blending” trick (see the recipe below), it was thick and hearty.
I used this Epicurious recipe as my inspiration, but made a lot of alterations, so I wanted to share with you what I did.
This doubles and triples very well – and freezes well, too.
Quick & Easy Mushroom Barley Soup
Pareve 
INGREDIENTS
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 pound mushrooms, cut into small pieces (I made them as small as I could – to avoid having to chew them in the soup!)
- 2 large carrots, chopped finely
- 2 large celery stalks, chopped finely
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 8 cups vegetable broth or (pareve) chicken broth
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and sautee for a few minutes until translucent.
Add mushrooms, carrots, celery and barley. Sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 20 minutes.
Gradually pour in the broth and bring soup to boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer until barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Use a hand immersion blender to lightly blend the soup right in the pot. Don’t fully blend it – you want about half blended and the other half still in pieces. This thickens the soup (and hides some of the mushrooms – if you, too, aren’t a fan!).
Once blended, mix in the parsley and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper.
This hearty soup is perfect for a chilly night in the sukkah – or anytime! It reheats really well and freezes well, too.
What’s your favorite hearty soup recipe?
The vegetable broth may be responsible for the color. I use Imagine Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (OU kosher and pareve) which is quite yellow/orange in color. My soup is about the same color as pictured here. B’tayavon and Chag Sameach to you and yours!
Yes, definitely the broth! I agree!