Quick-cooking mushroom-barley soup

5 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 tablespoon Olive or canola oil
1½ cup Coarsely chopped onions
OR thinly sliced leeks
1½ teaspoon Minced garlic
6 cups Boiling water
¼ cup Tomato paste
3 tablespoons Instant vegetable stock powder
½ cup Quick-cooking barley; (generous 1/2 cup)
½ ounce Sliced dried mushrooms; (about 1/2 cup)
Quickly rinsed or reconstituted if sandy
3 larges Carrots; trimmed
And cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 larges Ribs celery; trimmed
And cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 teaspoons Dried dill; up to 3
½ teaspoon Dried thyme
½ teaspoon Salt; or to taste
2 tablespoons Dry sherry; up to 4
OR 1 to 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar; (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper; to taste

Directions

Prep: about 15 minutes cooking: 15 to 25 minutes The soup is tasty after about fifteen minutes of cooking, but if you have time to simmer it for ten minutes longer, you'll get that wonderful creamy thickness that is the essence of any great mushroom-barley soup. Serve the soup with fresh onion rolls.

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic for 1 minute, stirring frequently Add the boiling water, tomato paste, stock powder, barley, mushrooms, carrots, celery, 2 teaspoons dill, the thyme, and salt. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add up to 1 teaspoon more dill if you like. Cover and simmer until the vegetables and barley are tender, about 5 more minutes. If you wish, enhance the flavor with either sherry or balsamic vinegar, and add black pepper to taste.

Makes 5 to 6 servings

Per Serving: 157 calories, 4g protein, 28g carb, 3.5g fat, 6g fiber. 2 WW POINTS

Recipe by: Lorna Saas' Short-Cut Vegetarian, page 56 Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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