Mushroom Barley Soup.
An immensely comforting yet simple soup with straightforward flavours and ingredients, this is a faithful recipe from New York’s fourth generation mecca of Jewish comfort food, Russ and Daughters.
Mushroom Barley Soup.
Hinging on the heady combination of mushroom, garlic and parsley, complemented by natural creaminess of barley, this is an old-fashioned, soul-warming soup, a walk through the woods and time in a bowl, and perfect for the bright yet vague beginning that is the start of the year.
Unmistakable Eastern European with its generous quantities of garlic and butter, it is perfectly emblematic of “haimishness” - a Yiddish word that suggests warmth, comfort, authenticity, conviviality, and lack of pretence.
Barley is a versatile healthy wholegrain high in fibre, delicious in soups as well as salads. Its delicate and naturally creamy nature makes it delicious on its own or in combination with others such as spelt and rice.
The original recipe from the Lower East Side culinary institution a culinary (and allegedly the first business in the US to have “&daughters” in its name) uses beef stock – but chicken stock works just as well.
A lighter, more Italianite version can be made by reducing the quantity of butter to a third and adding a couple of drizzles of olive oil, and using full cloves of garlic which are then removed at the end of the cooking, which will make it altogether more digestible. You might in that case want to augment the savouriness with some Parmesan sprinkled on top when serving toegtehr with the parsley and perhaps even add some anchovies to you bread. As all hearty, old-fashioned soups, this is excellent with a slice of bread and butter. (If you’re not having anchovies, try some simple sea salt flakes or chillies instead.
The dried mushrooms add plenty of additional depth and flavour, but the soup is also perfectly delicious made with a mix of mushrooms. (Shiitake pair particularly well with garlic.) If substituting dried mushrooms for fresh, use a ratio of 1:10, ie 300g of extra fresh mushrooms for the 30g dried.
Ingredients.
Dried Polish or Porcini mushrooms, 30g
Unsalted butter, 90g
Onion, 1 medium, diced
Garlic, 3 cloves, minced
Fresh mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced, 340g
Celery stalks and leaves, 2,
diced
Carrot, 1 large, peeled and diced
Fresh parsley, chopped
Flour, 1 tablespoon
Beef or chicken stock, 1l
Barley, rinsed, 100g
Salt and f
resh black pepper
Method.
1. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with 500ml of boiling water and allow to soak for an hour.
2. Strain the mushrooms through a cheesecloth and reserve the liquid (this is key!).
3. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a large, heavy stockpot over a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 8 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
6. Add the fresh mushrooms, celery, carrot and half of the parsley and sauté until the mushrooms are golden and the celery and carrots are beginning to soften, about 10 minutes.
7. Stir in the flour until well blended. Stir in the mushroom soaking liquid, the soaked mushrooms, stock and an additional 1l of water.
8. Stir in the barley, salt and pepper to taste.
9. Bring the mixture to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the barley is tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more water. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper if necessary.
10. Serve sprinkled with the remaining parsley.
