Soup is great! I've made it a few times, but have tweaked it. Don't need to cook barley in a separate pot. Up the amount of Beef stock (can use vegetable stock for vegetarians) to 6 cups. You will always need to add more. Saute as stated, adding mushrooms, then barley. Simmer for about 45 min - 1 hr. Saves a pot to clean & time is the same. Also vary the types of mushrooms - I've used Shitake, Cremini & Baby Bellas combined. Comes out even more heavenly!
This soup is a good base recipe but I really feel it's overrated. As some other reviewers have noted the result has a hearty consistency but is bland. To make it special but keep it healthy I added 2/3 cup of sherry (red wine would also do nicely) two minced cloves of garlic to the onion sautee and then minced a sprig of fresh rosemary (fresh tarragon or chopped fresh Italian parsley might also be nice). If you want a richer flavor consider using butter instead of olive oil to sautee the onions and garlic. This revised recipe would rate 4-5 stars but I can only give the original recipe 3 stars because it's just not exceptional without significant tinkering.
This soup was absolutely delicious. I made it vegetarian by using a vegetable broth ("World's Greatest Vegetable Broth" by Tom West) instead of the beef broth. Wonderful!
This was so so delicious. I used a couple of different types of mushrooms which added interest. Looking forward to leftovers today with the soup!
Very good but I would suggest chopping the mushrooms. Sliced they were I hate to say it because it's not like they tasted bad but they had a somewhat slimey consistency which I did not care for. I would leave everything else the same.
Nice, nice recipe. Using a previous reviewer's suggestion I didn't precook the barley but cooked it in the broth instead. I doubled the carrot, used 1# sliced criminis, used 6 cups of broth (half beef/half chicken), then added my 1 cup of barley. I let the whole thing simmer for 45-50 minutes, adding 1 cup more of water along the way- but it could have used a bit more since the barley soaked up a lot. The final broth flavor could have used more of a boost, so next time I'll add a couple teaspoons of the old standby - poultry seasoning. Finally, I placed some thinly sliced baby spinach in the bottom of the bowl before ladling in the soup. Gave it another layer of veggies. Very nice overall.
thanks so much for this recipe. i love mushrooms but don't like creamy variations too often. this has a real versatility to it. i added one garlic clove and a bit of thyme and only made a half recipe.
This is a very tasty and easy soup to make. I washed but didn't cook the barley in advance and added 2 cloves of chopped garlic to the other vegetables. Note - the day after the soup really thickens - as the barley soaks up a lot of the fluids. Just add boiling water salt and pepper when re-heating and the soup will be just as good and last a little longer!
This soup had a lot of flavor. I added one more carrot and a few more mushrooms. If you want a good soup to warm your soul and tummy on a cold winter's evening then by all means make this wonderful soup. It pairs very well with a good crusty bread also. Dan.
