I just finished a nice bowl of pheasant vegetable soup. As I was savoring the last bite, the tiny bits of pearl barley at the bottom of the bowl caught my attention.
I rarely make a vegetable soup that doesn’t contain barley. I think that’s because whenever my dad my vegetable beef soup, he always included barley in it.
Barley is a good source of fiber and contains the minerals iron and selenium. Pearl barley is the most common form of barley used for cooking, yet it is a much-underused alternative to rice and pasta. It was first cultivated more than 10,000 years ago in Asia, where people started eating it like wheat in boiled porridge, soups and bread.
One of the reasons I like barley is because it has a slightly sweet and mild taste. So, whenever I see a recipe that contains barley, my curiosity is piqued.
I ran across the following soup recipe that contains barley just the other day at the American Institute for Cancer Research website (www.aicr.org). I thought since it is winter, and nearly January, when warm and satisfying food is especially welcome, a soup recipe like this might just be the one you’ve been wanting to try.
But the nicest thing about the recipe is that it is a real time saver for a quick lunch or dinner.
Mushroom Barley Soup
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin (like coins)
1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced
½ cup chopped shallots, including most of green stems
3 tablespoons dry white cooking wine (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
5 cups reduced-sodium beef stock
¾ cup pearl barley
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 small yellow pepper, chopped
Heat oil and butter in large pot over high heat. Add onions and carrots. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and shallots. Cook an additional 4 minutes, continuing to stir frequently, until onions and carrots soften and mushrooms wilt.
Add wine, thyme and oregano. Reduce heat to low. Stir and scrape browned bits from the bottom, and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in stock, barley, salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in yellow pepper and 1/3 cup parsley, and simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Garnish with remaining parsley and serve.
Yield: Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 260 calories, 9 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 34 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams protein, 6 grams dietary fiber, 330 milligrams sodium.
