Name: Mushroom-Barley Soup
Ingredients: ½ cup raw pearled barley; 6 ½ cups water; 3 tablespoons unsalted cultured butter; 1 cup chopped onions (heaping); 2 cloves minced garlic; 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced; ½ teaspoon fine salt; 4 tablespoons tamari; 4 tablespoons dry sherry; several grinds black pepper

Mushroom-Barley Soup

Ingredients

½ cup raw pearled barley
6 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons unsalted cultured butter
1 cup chopped onions (heaping)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ teaspoon fine salt
4 tablespoons tamari
4 tablespoons dry sherry
several grinds black pepper

Instructions

Put barley and 3 cups water into a soup pot. Bring to boil, skimming off foam. Cook barley until almost tender on medium heat.
In the meantime, melt butter in medium frying pan. Saute onions and garlic until soft.
Once onions and garlic have softened, add mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until tender.
When barley is almost tender, add vegetables to soup pot, including liquid expressed as they cook. Add remaining water, tamari, and sherry.
Add several grinds of black pepper.
Simmer 20 minutes, covered, at lowest heat.
Taste to correct seasoning.

Notes

Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s The Moosewood Cookbook.