This is my version of the soup Anka makes at the L’Chaim Adult Day Centre. I substituted red lentils or masoor dal, for part of the barley. The reason is embarrassing. I had enough barley to start with, but was toasting the grain while I was doing something else. I got distracted for a few minutes too long and the barley burnt. I increased the amount of barley/lentils, omitted the white wine and used a combination of chicken and vegetable stock. Use all vegetable stock for a hearty vegetarian start to a fall meal. I left out the mushrooms. If you are using fresh dill, add a little later in the cooking time. Place the fresh herbs and bay leaf in cheese cloth so it is easier to pluck out.
The barley gets gluey if you don’t eat the soup up or get it in the freezer fast enough. A workaround is to cook the barley as directed, keep it separate and add to soup before reheating. I’m going to try this recipe with rice and will report back.
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 teaspoon soy sauce
8 cups turkey broth
ground black pepper to taste
Fresh dill, chopped, for garnish
Directions
1. Bring the barley and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, salt, and bay leaves. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrot and celery; cook for 5 more minutes. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the mushrooms, dill, soy sauce, turkey broth, and cooked barley; season to taste with pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
Source: Dilled Vegetable Barley Soup, allrecipes.com