Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1/2 cup diced peeled carrots
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- vegetable oil for sauteing veggies
- 2 tsp dried dill (or 2-3 Tbs fresh chopped dill)
- 1/2 pearl barley
- 6 cups mushroom stock or beef stock
- 1 cup red wine or dry sherry wine (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8-10 thinly sliced spears of asparagus (optional)
- salted water for steaming asparagus
Dan Eaton shows us how to make a great soup with an added nod to spring!
PROCEDURE:
Once the vegetables are all cut up and ready to go, add a splash of vegetable oil to a large, heavy bottomed soup pot and turn the heat to medium high and add the onions and carrots at the same time.
Once the onions have softened up, add the minced clove of garlic and the sliced mushrooms and stir those around and cook them until the mushrooms start to soften up a little bit.
After about 5 minutes, add the dill and pearl barley and stir that in. Then add 6 cups of mushroom or beef stock and let that come up to a gentle simmer.
And, at this point for more depth of flavor, you could add nice splash of red wine or sherry wine and let it simmer along for 40-45 minutes.
And, when you're happy with how soft the barley is, all that's left is to season it with a little salt and pepper to taste and, if you're going to serve it with asparagus, steam some thinly sliced asparagus in a little salted water right before serving it on top of the soup.