Barley Soup with Blended Herbs and Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound assorted wild mushrooms (shitake, cremini and oyster), sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 cups water
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 pound parsnips cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3/4 cup pearl barley
- 1 10-12 ounce can crushed tomato
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley for garnish
GET COOKIN'
- Heat the butter over medium heat in large heavy- bottomed pot. Add the mushrooms, onion and garlic, with salt and pepper to taste. Cook down until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 20 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. (At this point, soup can be made up to two days in advance.)
- Just before serving, add warmed mini meatballs.
HINTS & CLUES
- If the soup becomes too thick, add water or beef stock to thin.
- If you are chopping garlic and the recipe calls for salt, sprinkle the garlic with a little bit of salt before you chop. The salt will soak up some of the liquid and make it less sticky.
- Use long-cooking pearl barley. It will release a velvety starch that enhances the broth.
- If you burn soup on the bottom of the pan, don’t try to loosen it. Instead, transfer soup to a fresh pot. This will eliminate any remnants of a burnt taste.
