Russian Mushroom Barley Soup (Грибной Суп с Перловкой)

In the crisp, sunny autumn days, the forests ofRussiaare full of people perusing the wooded floor for mushrooms. Mushroom foraging is almost a sport for Slavic people. For centuries, mushrooms have been a really substantial part of the diet, during the long winter months. Since the winter is so long and the warm weather doesn’t last very long, the meat supply was pretty scarce and had to be supplemented by mushrooms, which are hearty, savory and a perfect substitute.

When we still lived in Belarus, we would get together in groups and make our way to the forest with pails. Usually right after a few rainy days, the mushrooms were especially plentiful. We rustled though the leaves and pine needles, adding one mushroom after another to our pails, breathing in the pine-scented fresh air. I loved the comraderie of these expeditions – talking, laughing, and exchanging stories. We would come back home satisfied, rosy-cheeked and hungry. We would put a large pot of potatoes to cook and serve it up with bacon and onions. The star of the meal would be mushrooms, of course. Simply sautéed with the bacon and onions, or with sour cream, mushrooms are so scrumptious.

We would marinate and dry the mushrooms to enjoy throughout the cold, winter months. Mushroom soup was a favorite. I make it with all kinds of mushrooms, basically, whatever happens to be available. Chanterelles are my favorite. In Russian, they are called lisichki, little foxes, or chanterelles in English. I love the texture, they are meaty, hearty and extremely delicious. In a light broth and with chunks of potatoes, creamy barley, onions and garnished with a bit of crispy bacon and fresh herbs, this soup is elegant and at the same time reminds me of those days in Grandma’s kitchen, where I ate it after a day in the forest.

*We always had an expert who knew exactly which mushrooms were good and which ones to steer clear of. Don’t pick mushrooms if you don’t have the needed knowledge. Some mushrooms are poisonous, so your best bet is to buy them in the grocery store.

 

Rinse the barley. Place the water and barley into a medium pot. Season with salt, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the potatoes to the soup. Continue cooking at a simmer until the potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces, lardons. Cook on medium heat in a skillet until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Pour out all but about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease. You can pour it all out and add about 1 Tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and cook on high heat. The mushrooms will exude a lot of liquid, keep cooking on high heat until all the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms are golden. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking on medium heat until the onions are tender and just beginning to turn golden. Add to the soup and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender. Garnish with the bacon and fresh dill and chives. Serve with sour cream.

Russian Mushroom Barley Soup
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup barley, pearled
  • 8 cups water
  • 2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 3-4 strips bacon
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 8 oz mushrooms, chanterelles (or any other)
  • salt, pepper
  • fresh herbs (dill, chives, etc), minced
Instructions
  1. Rinse the barley. Place the water and barley into a medium pot. Season with salt, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.
  2. Add the potatoes and continue cooking at a simmer until the potatoes are tender.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces, lardons. Cook on medium heat in a skillet until crisp. Drain on a paper towel.
  4. Pour out all but about 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease. You can pour it all out and add about 1 Tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and cook on high heat. The mushrooms will exude a lot of liquid, keep cooking on high heat until all the liquid evaporates and the mushrooms are golden.
  5. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking on medium heat until the onions are tender and just beginning to turn golden.
  6. Add to the soup and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender. Garnish with the bacon and fresh dill and chives. Serve with sour cream.

39 Comments

  • Tanya

    Thank you Olya for sharing your delicious recipes with us. I make similar soup to yours, using champion mushrooms from the grocery. You are very lucky to find licichki, I totally agree with you they are delicious along with pog-berezoviki. Yum.

    • olgak7

      Hi Tanya!
      I usually make this soup with whatever mushrooms are available at the store too. It’s very rare that I can find chanterelles, so I’m so excited when I actually find them. There are so many wonderful mushrooms that we used to pick in Belarus.

  • Alla

    Yum! Yum! Yum! Too bad my husband diesent like mushrooms.. Might have to make this just for myself and invite my mom over 😉

    • olgak7

      Actually, they aren’t as expensive as they seem. Since they are so dehydrated, the cost is much less. They are also so much more intense in flavor than the fresh ones, which means you only need a little bit. I really like adding dry mushrooms to sauces and soups as a flavoring, not as the main ingredient. Instead of adding 8 oz as you would the dry mushrooms, you would only need 1-2 oz only of the dry mushrooms. If I make this soup with dry mushrooms, I only add a little bit for the flavor and I use fresh mushrooms as the main ingredient.

  • Tatiana Yakimchuk

    My sister Sveta introduced me to your website just recently and I am so excited to try some of your recipes, especially Russian food & this soup! Thank You & Best wishes!

  • Liliya

    Ok, I didn’t have any meat on hand so I went with this soup. OMGoodness! This isn’t a soup that my mom ever made. And I thought she made them all. Wow, its hearty, flavorful and simply delicious! My husband LoVED it!! One alteration I made was adding carrots. I just had to do it lol

  • Liliya

    I didn’t have any meat on hand so I went with this soup. OMGoodness! This isn’t a soup that my mom ever made. And I thought she made them all. Wow, its hearty, flavorful and simply delicious! My husband LoVED it!! One alteration I made was adding carrots. I just had to do it lol

    • olgak7

      Hi Liliya,
      Thanks for letting me know! This is one of my top favorites for sure. I could eat this soup for three days and not get sick of it:). I’m so glad you like it too. I add carrots too sometimes.

  • Oksana Babich

    Hey! I cant find the fresh mushroom that this recipe calls for. Any suggestions what mushroom could replace the chanterelles?

    • olgak7

      Hi Alena,
      I didn’t always have the plugin that I use now for the printable recipe. I am slowly adding this option to the older recipes. If there’s ever any other recipe that you want to have the printable option for, just let me know. This one is all set to go:).

  • Dasha

    I made this yesterday, only skipped the bacon. I used frozen lisichki – in NY one can find them, and other mushrooms, in a freezer section at any Russian food store. This a great hearty soup to have for dinner on a cold winter evening!

  • Lisa

    I am making this soup for a Russian-themed dinner tonight in honor of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Thanks for the recipe!

    • olgak7

      That’s awesome, Lisa! I’ve always loved this soup so much. I would love to hear what you think once you’ve tried it.
      Your party sounds awesome. So much fun!

  • Vitor Duarte

    Hello, thanks for your recipe.

    I did it today and followed the instructions stricktly, but the barley (1/4 cup) simply disappeared in 8 cups of water. Did I make anything wrong? It seems to me it does not agregate any flavor or smothness to the soup. Sorry for the comment, but I became quite curious about the question. Thanks, Vitor.

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  • Natalie

    Where did you find Lisichki/Chanterelles??? In my 14 years in the US I have never seen them in the grocery store! Those, too were my favorite growing up!

  • Emily

    Hi, I am an American living in Minsk and I love your recipes! I have a question–what would you say the equivalent of bacon is in Belarus? I know there is бекон, but that is hard to find and doesn’t seem to be the same thing. I have tried buying different things that look like bacon here, but I never know if it will render fat and cook down the way American bacon does–and half the time it doesn’t work. What would you ask the butcher for (in Russian) if you were making this recipe in Minsk?

  • Valentina

    My husband and I love picking Chanterelles here in Washington. So much fun! This looks delicious. I really want to give it a try. Also, you can find Chanterelles in Costco during the fall but I don’t know if that’s everywhere..

  • Brittany

    Olga, I’m making this right now because I found Chanterelles at Costco! I was so excited at the store my son looked at me like I was crazy 😄

  • Richard

    My late wife taught me which mushrooms that we were likely to find were edible. However, she left no written recipe for mushroom & barley soup. I’ve dried boletes, morels, chanterelles, & some others the names of which I don’t remember at the moment. You’ve carefully avoided providing instructions on reconstituting dried mushrooms. How about helping a fellow who wants the soup but who hasn’t the slightest idea how much water to use for about 4 oz. of dried mushrooms and about how much time it takes to reconstitute them. I don’t live in a city where the supermarkets sell much besides button mushrooms and portabellas. If I want anything more interesting or tasty, I have to pick the mushrooms myself.

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