Mushroom Barley Soup

By Dawn Lerman

Mushroom Barley Soup
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
3 hours 30 minutes
Rating
4(453)
Comments
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This soup is made with nourishing bone broth and root vegetables, creating a rich, aromatic and hearty meal that will keep you satisfied during the cold days of winter. It was my dad's favorite soup as a child. He remembers his mom instructing him on how to prepare it. "A bissel of this, a bissel of that," Bubbe would call out in her strong Yiddish accent, kvelling as she watched him sample the simmering ingredients.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For Homemade Beef Stock

    • 3pounds beef bones
    • 1pound chuck, cubed
    • 1onion, quartered
    • 4celery stalks, sliced in half
    • 4carrots, sliced in half
    • 1bay leaf
    • water to cover

    For the Soup

    • 8cups beef stock (see tip)
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
    • 1large onion, quartered
    • 8celery stalks, diced
    • 2parsnips, diced
    • 8carrots, cut into rounds
    • 1bunch of parsley, finely chopped
    • 1cup pearl barley
    • 1pound fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
    • 2tablespoons tomato paste
    • 2large bay leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

493 calories; 16 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1831 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large soup pot, combine all the stock ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the broth into another large pot. Save the meat, but discard the rest of the solids. If the stock in your new pot is greasy, let it cool for about 15 minutes and then place 6 ice cubes in the pot. The grease will immediately congeal and you can spoon out the ice cubes and grease in one fell swoop. Your homemade beef stock is ready.

  2. Step 2

    Taste the stock and add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the onion, celery, parsnips, carrots, parsley, pearl barley and sliced mushrooms. Bring to a boil and then add the tomato paste and bay leaves. Simmer 30 minutes, until the barley is soft. Then add the saved beef and cook for another 45 minutes. You can add a little water if too much liquid has evaporated.

Tip
  • If you do not want to make your own stock, you can use 64 ounces of beef broth from a carton or dissolve 4 large bouillon cubes (such as Knorr) or 8 small cubes (such as Wyler’s) in 64 ounces of boiling water. If you did not make your own stock, brown 1 pound of cubed chuck in a tablespoon of oil and use that.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
453 user ratings
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Comments

Rhyan Guevarra

Procedure:
[note: I used bouillon cubes and I diced the onion]
In a large pot brown the beef chuck and then remove and reserve. In the same pot sweat out the onion, then add in the carrot and parsnip, cook for an additional 5 mins. Then add in the celery and saute till semi-tender. Remove and reserve as well. Then add in the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 mins. Add in tomato paste and cook briefly. Deglaze the pot with beefsteak. [make sure you scrape all those flavors on the bottom of the

Nicholas Yarmoshuk

I have the feeling that the author had more to say about the techniques involved in this menu . . But there is nothing.

A note is mentioned in the list of ingredients but only a tip is included. I suggest there needs to be some determined editorial attention addressed to this issue.

lgozer

This soup is clearly what is usually called "beef barley", not mushroom barley. Suggest reducing barley to 1/2 cup, as it takes over the soup. Can easily do using 4 cans of low sodium beef broth. Reduced celery in half (4 stalks) as 8 seemed excessive.

Mick

If you happen to make a bone-in rib roast, using those bones makes an outstanding base to your broth. And you can pick the meat off the bones after you fish them out of the broth. More mushrooms and add mushroom broth if need more liquid- barley does soak up a lot.

Kathy

I added thyme and garlic to the broth. For soup, I used 4 stalks of celery; 8 seemed like a lot. I used 4 very large carrots, so probably equivalent to the 8. 8 cups of broth was not covering the vegetables for the initial simmer; I stared with 12 total. Thus I used 3 tbsp. tomato paste. First simmer was with lid on. After adding meat and the vegetables had added liquid, I simmered with the lid off to reduce. Added more thyme for flavor, and salt. We had a cup or so of leftover gravy from the meat, so I stirred it in with the second simmer. It was delicious.

Lorie F

Followed the recipe, except I added browned the onions with some garlic and added thyme. Next time I would leave out the parsley, it’s a bit overpowering. It’s more like a stew than a soup, so I’d either add more beef stock or use less barley next time.

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