Mushroom Barley Soup

Mushroom Barley Soup

In our house there is never a bad time of year for soup!  There are soups full of comforting root vegetables for Autumn,  hearty warm-me-up soups for Winter, simple light broth or raw soups for Spring cleansing and then there is this wonderful Mushroom Barely soup that you can have in all four seasons!  
Summer gardens can provide fresh shallots and thyme; we love to grow fresh herbs in the summer that we can prune and use as needed not wasting a bit!  Getting your hands in to the dirt and planting a herb garden is the simplest way to be connected to the food that you are preparing, eating and hopefully sharing!
Barley can be added into your diet in many ways such as in flours for baking, using as a hot cereal staple but is especially delicious in soups.
 
Not only does barley barley provide insoluble fibers that feed friendly bacteria in the digestive tract, but its fiber binds to and removes cholesterol-containing bile, helping in lowering cholesterol levels. It is also a good source of molybdenum, manganese, dietary fiber, and selenium, as well as  copper, vitamin B1, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium, and niacin.
 
Hats off to anyone who actually grows their own mushrooms since we saw a show on Dirty Jobs about mushroom farming, but if you opt to pick some up at the local grocery store you will find a variety that you can use in this soup. We like to use a combination of white button, cremini and portobellos. 
 
With June's Vegan Little Life Box we received some wonderful Yeast Free Mushroom Bouillon Cubes so we knew it was time to have some tasty Mushroom Barley soup!  We hope you enjoy it as mush as we do at our home. 
 

Mushroom Barley Soup 

 

1/4 - 1/2 cup of pearl barley soaked overnight 

(it won't be a disaster if you do not soak it)

9 cups of Go Bio Yeast Free Mushroom Bouillon  

Drain barley & place into a large pot with stock

bring to a boil & reduce the heat to simmer for about 45 minutes

 

Prepare: 

 

Chop up 8 - 10 cups of your favourite mushrooms

Olive oil for frying - 1 tbsp

5 large shallots chopped

4 tsp of fresh thyme, chopped or leaves

3 small bay leaves

2 tsp of Dijon mustard...more if you like

Salt & pepper to your own taste

 

As your barley is simmering:

 

On medium heat add oil to a large skillet. 

Add the shallots and thyme.

When shallots are translucent, add all of the mushrooms.

Once your mushrooms/shallots are prepared, and your barley is ready, add the veggies to the broth and barley mixture.  

Add the bay leaves, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  

Simmer for 45 minutes to allow the broth flavours to develop.  

Served with a crusty whole wheat roll.

 

Enjoy!

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