Mushroom barley soup
Chewy barley and deeply browned mushrooms in a savory, dill-flecked broth, the old-world soup that makes you feel full and warm on almost nothing.
- 70 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $1.58 a serving
- 230 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 vegetable bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 8 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
Each serving has about 230 calories, 6 g protein, 35 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $1.58 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby bella mushrooms? White mushrooms work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the mushrooms, the onion, carrots and celery, the garlic, and the barley in a strainer.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and salt and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes, until the liquid is gone and they’re well .
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Browned mushrooms are what make this soup taste meaty. Wait for the color before moving on.Add the rest of the oil and the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and thyme for 1 minute.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Add the barley, soy sauce, water, bouillon cubes and bay leaves and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low, set the and for 40 to 45 minutes, until the barley is tender but still a little chewy.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 42 min 30 sec
Pull out the bay leaves, stir in the dill, taste for salt, and serve.
Dolly’s tip: Barley keeps soaking up broth in the fridge. Add water to leftovers until they’re soupy again.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Moroccan harira
60 min
Lentil soup
65 min
Easy vegetable soup
55 min
Curried lentil and sweet potato soup
55 min
One-pan dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with baby bella mushrooms and carrots ›