blue artichoke

Mushroom, Barley, and Beef Soup

Try to use hulled barley for this soup--it's a less refined form of the grain that provides more fiber and iron than pearled barley, which will also work nicely. Beef stew meat also contributes iron, plus selenium. The mushrooms supply vitamin D and are a prime source of ergothioneine, an antioxidant that may help prevent cell damage and reduce the risk of cancer.

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/4 ounce)
1 cup boiling water
Cooking spray
3 1/2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped parsnip (about 1 small)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 cups less-sodium beef broth, divided
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 thyme sprigs
1 cup uncooked barley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place the porcini mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until tender. Drain mushrooms in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add cremini mushrooms and chopped onion; sauté 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon onion mixture into a medium bowl. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add chopped carrot, celery, parsnip, and minced garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add carrot mixture to onion mixture in a bowl.

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes, browning on all sides. Add 1 cup broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add remaining 5 cups broth, chopped porcini, porcini liquid, onion mixture, 2 cups water, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour or until beef is just tender.

Discard thyme sprigs. Stir in barley; cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is al dente. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat; sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup and 1 teaspoon parsley)

CALORIES 318(27% from fat); FAT 9.6g (sat 2.9g,mono 4.6g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 25.7g; CHOLESTEROL 58mg; CALCIUM 47mg; SODIUM 700mg; FIBER 7.4g; IRON 3.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.5g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2006

I had a mix of dried wild mushrooms, probably a bit more than ¼ oz, I think, that I used instead of the dried porcini. I also subbed baby bellas for the cremini mushrooms, because I couldn’t find the cremini. Omitted celery. To hurry it along a bit, I soaked the barley in hot water for a while, then used a carton of beef broth (4 c., I think) and omitted the 2 c. water, but added the soaking water with the barley. I accidentally used the ground beef I had thawing in the fridge for another recipe instead of the beef stew meat, and not as much as called for in the recipe. Other than being skimpy on the beef, this was a really good soup, and easy to make.

I made the popover recipe that's on the side of the box that the popover pan came in. It's super. I love popovers; they're the reason I make soup at all, so I can make popovers on the side.