Very nice! Here is idea you might also try. Put the barley on a sheet pan and toast lightly in oven at 350 degrees for about 5 mins or longer depending on your oven. It really brings the barley flavor out!
The flavor of this soup was really good. However, in the future I will follow the instructions on the barley bag and pre-soak it. After simmering the soup for 1 hour, I found the barley wasn't cooked enough. I continued to simmer for another 30 minutes and the barley was fine, but some of the stock had boiled down at that point.
Just great! SO very easy - it actually lives up to its name! We like ours a bit thicker than this has come out at the end of cooking, but I plan on cooking a little longer w/the lid off (we live in CO - it's all about evaporation!) to get it to thicken a bit. Otherwise, might toss a bit in a blender and add it back in to thicken it up that way. **MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING PEARLED BARLEY OR SOAK YOURS ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS if it's not - barley that is not pearled will take forever to cook otherwise (it looks like this got left out of the ingredient info).
This was so easy to make and it turned out pretty well.I made a few additions that I think really helped boost the flavor: I added extra garlic, and onions, and some red wine as I was cooking the mushrooms. Oh, I also used beef broth instead of chicken. The wine really gave the soup great depth.
this soup was excellent. I like mine extra thick so I used 1 cup of barley. even better the next day. will definitely make again.
Delicious! Took another reviewer's advice and used a full cup of barley. You can always add some water when you reheat the soup if it's too thick. This would be good with some chicken added to it as well... Will make again for sure.
While I prefer things to have a bit more flavor (I did add some garlic salt, red/black pepper blend) my husband absolutely LOVED this - said it was his favorite thing I've ever made!! He likes simple flavors, healthy foods - not big on caseroles, foods that have to be slaved over. He went back for 2 more "small" bowls (he pointed out :) - and kept asking - "...and barley is good for you, right?" I buy fresh organic spinach in bulk, so threw that in the bottom of our bowls without even cooking it -the broth wilted the spinach on its own - great for adding more nutrients. Thanks for the submission!
I make this same soup, but with double the amount of garlic and 3 cups chicken and 3 cups beef broth (reduced fat/sodium). I also add 1 tsp each of dried thyme, marjoram, and parsley and 2 Tb. white cooking wine. It's still easy and much tastier.
I followed the directions exactly and loved the soup! This is a great basic recipe to experiment with - next time I will double or triple the carrots and celery to get more of a vegetable soup. A bay leaf would also be good.
