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Mushroom Barley Soup

Total Time1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the soffritto:

  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 1 carrot finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic finely chopped
  • Olive oil

For the soup:

  • 1 cup barley
  • A ham bone or ham hock
  • A sprig of rosemary
  • Salt and pepper
  • Enough water to cover generously or a mixture of broth and water

For the mushroom garnish:

  • 100 g 1 cup sliced (or chopped) fresh mushrooms
  • 1 handful of parsley finely chopped
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  • Sauté the onion and carrot until soft, then add the garlic and stir. Season as you go. Add the barley, allow it sauté gently as well for just a minute or two to absorb the flavor of the aromatics.
  • Place the ham bone (or ham hock) over the barley, together with a sprig of rosemary. Pour in enough water to cover all the ingredients generously, by at least 5 cm/3 in.
  • Simmer the barley and other ingredients for at least an hour, until the barley is nice and tender but not mushy. Add water from time to time if you need to—and chances are, you probably will, since barley absorbs a lot of liquid.
  • About 15 minutes or so before the soup is ready, sauté some thinly sliced mushrooms in a bit more olive oil until nicely browned and reduced, mixing in a bit of minced parsley just before you remove the mushrooms from the heat. Add the sautéed mushrooms to simmer along with the barley until done.
  • Remove the ham bone from the pot, scrape off any bits of ham meat, chop it up and add the meat back into the pot. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
  • Serve hot, topped if you like with un filo d'olio and a generous grind of black pepper.