Mushroom and Barley Soup Using Fresh, Frozen and Dry Mushrooms
One of the most comforting soups is a Mushroom and Barley Soup and this one is made with fresh, frozen and Dry mushrooms, so the mushroom flavor is supremely predominant. The creamy, luscious broth, the potatoes, bacon, onion, and mushrooms cook together to make a very cozy and satisfying meal.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Soups
Ingredients
Scale
- 10 oz fresh mushrooms
- 8 oz frozen porcini mushrooms (if you can’t find them, substitute more fresh mushrooms), thawed
- 1/4 cup dry mushrooms, (porcini, chanterelle)
- 4 strips bacon, cut into small pieces (lardons)
- 1 Tablespoon butter or oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup pearled barley
- 3 potatoes, chopped
- 8 cups water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- sour cream, optional, for serving
- 1–2 Tablespoons fresh herbs (dill, parsley, green onions)
Instructions
- Prep the mushrooms. Wash and slice the fresh mushrooms. Thaw and clean the frozen porcini mushrooms. (I buy these mushrooms at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find them, just use more fresh mushrooms instead. Pour boiling water over the dry mushrooms, letting them steep for 5-10 minutes, then clean them, discarding all the sand and grit on the bottom of the bowl that they were steeping in.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, cook the bacon on medium heat until it’s golden and crisp. Spoon out the cooked bacon, letting it drain on a paper towel.
- Pour off all the excess bacon grease, leaving 1 -1 1/2 Tablespoons of the bacon grease in the dutch oven.
- Add the fresh and frozen mushrooms to the dutch oven, cooking on high heat for about 8 minutes. At first, the mushrooms will exude a lot of liquid, but then the liquid will get absorbed and cook off and the mushrooms will start to brown. Set the sauteed mushrooms aside, alongside the cooked bacon.
- Melt 1 Tablespoon butter or oil in the dutch oven, then add the onion, season with salt and ground black pepper and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the onions soften.
- Add the dry mushrooms, potatoes, and barley to the soup, as well as the water. (You can also use chicken broth or vegetable broth, if you’d like, instead of the water.) I just used water, because the abundance of mushrooms gives the soup such a rich flavor, I don’t think it needs the broth. Season the soup to taste with salt and ground black pepper, and then bring it to a boil, over high heat and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the barley, potatoes, and dry mushrooms are completely cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Add the sauteed mushrooms to the soup.
- Add the heavy cream and garnish with the cooked bacon and fresh herbs, such as dill, parsley and/or green onion.
- Serve with additional sour cream, if you’d like.