I was on a college road trip when I had my first taste of Mushroom Barley Soup. My friends and I stopped at a roadside deli—I wish I could remember the name of the place. What I do remember is that piping hot bowl of delicious soup. It was love at first bite.
You can find this soup on most Jewish deli menus. The dish has roots in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. Mushrooms were popular in these cold-weather countries because they could be harvested, dried, and stored for later use.
In my friend Etti Hadar’s family memoir, her Polish uncle Dov Levin talks about how his mother used to string up rows of mushrooms with a thread and needle in the attic. They would hang the mushrooms near the chimney; the heat of the stove would dry them out faster that way.
Barley was also plentiful and easy to grow in the Eastern European climate, making it a common addition to hearty winter dishes like soup and cholent. Barley’s history goes back even further; in fact, it is arguably the world’s first and most ancient cultivated grain. It is also one of the Seven Species mentioned in the Bible.
Ever since that fateful college road trip, I’ve worked on creating my own soup recipe to achieve what I consider the perfect balance of mushroom barley flavor. I’ve stuck to simple, natural ingredients.
Inspired by Uncle Dov’s memoir, I added dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid to the broth, along with fresh mushrooms seared golden brown. The combination adds complex flavor to an otherwise simple soup. A long, slow simmer reduces the broth, making the soup thick and rich.
This robust, filling soup makes a hearty lunch or dinner on a chilly autumn day. Despite being “comfort food,” it is surprisingly healthy. Barley is rich in dietary fiber and selenium. The grain also contains beta glucan, a complex sugar that can help to lower cholesterol. Enjoy!
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Mushroom Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 3 quarts chicken or mushroom stock (low sodium okay)
- 1 1/4 cups pearl barley
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 dried shitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery, including leaves
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 pound white mushrooms, scrubbed and sliced
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pour chicken or mushroom stock into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley, add the bay leaves, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered. Set your timer for 2:15 (2 hours 15 minutes) starting now.
- While the soup simmers, place dried mushrooms in a separate small saucepan. Add 3 cups of water to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, remove saucepan from heat and let the mushrooms soak for 20 minutes.
- Drain the mushroom water by straining it through a coffee filter (use a mesh strainer or colander to hold the filter). Reserve the mushroom water.
- Chop the soaked, softened mushrooms into small pieces and reserve.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion to the skillet and sauté till softened.
- Add the celery and carrots and sauté for 5 more minutes till everything is browning and starting to caramelize.
- Add the soaked chopped dried mushroom pieces and crushed garlic, sauté for 2 more minutes. Your kitchen should smell really good right about now!
- Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the strained mushroom broth into the skillet, bring to a boil, stir. Cook for 2 more minutes till mixture is hot and bubbly. Add the contents of the skillet to the simmering stockpot with the broth and barley.
- Without rinsing the skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat, tilting to coat the bottom of the pan. Spread half of the sliced white mushrooms in a single layer at the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and turn heat to high. Let the mushrooms sear without stirring.
- After 2 minutes, stir the mushrooms continuously for another 1-2 minutes until they are seared golden brown and shrink to about half their size.
- Pour the seared mushrooms into the soup pot. Heat the last 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet and repeat the process for the remaining mushrooms. Add the rest of the seared mushrooms to the soup pot, stir to blend all ingredients.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook uncovered until your timer goes off (2 hours 15 minutes total cooking time), or until the barley is completely tender and the soup is nicely thickened. Add water during the simmer if the soup becomes overly thick. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
NOTES
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Other Great Recipe Ideas
In Erika’s Kitchen: Winter Greens Soup with Mushrooms
The Pioneer Woman: French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms
Simply Recipes: Mushroom Risotto
Kalyn’s Kitchen: Chicken Barley Soup
Weelicious: Barley, Chicken and Broccoli Salad
this looks great…..very similar the the one that I make
Hi Tori!
I just made this soup, and it looks, smells, and tastes absolutely wonderful! I didn’t have barley at hand, so I substituted it with red lentils, and it worked just as well.
I love your blog! It’s my new favorite thing! I love that I can find a recipe for just about anything I want, and the history behind each recipe is so interesting to read.
So far everything I have made from your recipes has been a total success (Butter Bean Soup, Crunchy Broccoli Craisin Salad, Date Nut Honey Cake..)!
Great job!! xx
Fabulous Darina! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for commenting! xo
What brand of Mushroom stock to do use and if you make it fresh please share the receipe.
Hi Rhoda, I like Pacific Natural Foods Organic Mushroom Broth. It’s kosher, organic, and very tasty.
Hi Tori!
I was able to get my hands on some fresh shitake mushrooms & was wondering if I would be able to substitute for the dry? Thanks!
Hi Suzanne– the dried mushrooms are used (in combination with fresh) because their flavor is much more intense than fresh. While you can sub fresh shitakes, it kind of defeats the purpose… soaking the dried mushrooms and using their soaking liquid in the soup adds a lot of flavor that you just can’t get from fresh. That said, the soup won’t taste bad if you use fresh– it just won’t be as tasty as it will if you use dry. 🙂
Looks amazing! We love this soup…I use some black Polish dried mushrooms that make the broth really dark. Sometimes I add a piece of flanken as well…perfect soup weather!
It freezes very well…
Gorgeous pics Tori!
Love this recipe, but due to mushroom allergies, will have to omit them. Do you have a suggestion for something to replace the mushrooms? Leeks? Spinach? I would like to have your input.
Hi Jan! That’s a great question. I’ve never made a sub in this recipe before, it’s tough to imagine mushroom barley soup without the mushrooms. What you could try is omit the mushrooms, and instead saute 1-2 lbs. of beef– flanken, perhaps, or short ribs– and let that cook slowly in the soup till tender. This will make it more of a beef/barley soup with lots of flavor. If you’re trying to keep it vegetarian, you could try subbing diced eggplant. Salt the cut up eggplant for 30 minutes first to pull out the bitterness, then rinse it well before adding to the pot. I’ve never tried it with eggplant, so no promises! But it might work out well. If you try it, let me know!
the weather here is a little bit chilly already, this soup is perfect, already in my menu for this week, yummm!!! Have a great week Tori. xo
YUM! YUM! YUM! This soup is soo good! This recipe is a “keeper” as we call good ones in my house. Thanks so much. Love your site.
Fabulous Kelly!
This recipe is so so so good! Thank you 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it Roni! Michele, good to know that freezing worked well for you. Seems like every time I make this soup it disappears too quickly to freeze the leftovers. 😉
i have frozen it and it reheats perfectly well.
I made the mushroom barley soup in my slow cooker and it was YUMMY! I lightly sauteed all the vegetables, placed them in the slow cooker and covered with chicken stock. I added a box of quick oats and cooked the soup on high for about 3 hours (keep checking that the liquid doesnt cook away because of the barley).
It was restaurant quality soup !
yummy, I will try this week , for sure : -) thanks so much
Does this freeze well?
Tina, I have never frozen this soup, but I imagine it would freeze well.
I freeze this recipe often. It doesn’t look pretty, and it usually needs to be thinned a little, because the barley absorbs even more water, but it is delicious, even months later
Hi
Do you have a version of the reciepie you can post or email me that is easily printable. I want to make this today.
Thanks
Hi Ali, I recently updated the blog with a new print function. Click on Print Recipe and a print friendly version should pop up. Let me know if you’re having any trouble. Thanks!
Thanks everybody! Hope you all get a chance to try this. Sarah, here’s a link to one of my favorite kugel recipes:
http://theshiksa.com/2012/05/18/sweet-lokshen-kugel/
Looks wonderful! I just found your Facebook page. I love Jewish cooking although I am a Gentile. So glad to find your site!
thank you, I have had a love of Jewish food for years, had some incredible Jewish men in my life, and admiration for the Jewish faith, traditions and lore. Do you have a sweet cougal recipe that’s a favorite?? Bless you, dear lady.
Thanks, this looks good. I’ve trouble finding a good mushroom barley soup recipe. I’ll try this one soon. Bet it will be good both vegetarian and with flanken or short ribs.
Wow this look so good, bet it’d be even better with pieces of meat.
You can add some flanken with the barley Maria, it will get nice and tender as the soup simmers. 🙂
I just made a beef barley soup and believe me it is better without the beef. One of my favorite soups in the world.
I can’t wait for the weather to cool off so I can try this, we’re in the middle of an unseasonal heat wave here in San Diego, wish it would chill off a bit so I coulf break out all my soup recipes! I will def be trying this one though when it gets cold outside!