A smoky, rich broth makes this Mushroom Barley Soup delicious, and barley and beans make it hearty, and satisfying.
When my friend and frequent blog commenter moonwatcher recommended Anna Thomas’ new book Love Soup, I knew I had to have it. The recipes sounded so unusual and the seasonings so much to my taste (ancho chilies, smoked paprika, toasted cumin) that I was sure it would appeal to me.
Unfortunately, I often have more ambition than time when it comes to reading new books, so I haven’t fully explored Love Soup yet. Instead, I opened the book to the first recipe for which I had most of the ingredients and decided to make an adaptation of it right then and there.
This recipe was originally Mushroom-Barley Soup with Cabbage, but being the kind of cook who wants to get everything–starch, vegetable, and protein–in one pot, I added cannellini beans, making it less brothy and more of a main dish. And true to my procrastinate-then-rush style of cooking, I sped up what was meant to be a slow-cooked soup by using a pinch of baking soda to brown the onions quickly and the pressure cooker to speed-cook the barley.
I also changed the proportions of some of the ingredients and totally left out two, green onions and fresh parsley, that I didn’t have and which might make this soup even more delicious, but I don’t see how. In short, I loved it. The broth was rich and flavorful with just a bare hint of spice and the mushrooms and barley lent a heartiness, something to chew on. If the rest of the recipes are as delicious, this book was a great investment. Thanks for the recommendation, moonwatcher!
I used the Instant Pot pressure setting to speed up the cooking of the barley, but I opted to cook the rest of the soup on sauté. I like the flavor that slow simmering gives it, but if you are in a big hurry, you could try returning the pot to pressure and cooking under pressure for 4 minutes before allowing a natural release for 15 minutes. But with the time it takes to get to pressure, this isn’t a huge time saver.
Mushroom-Barley Soup with Cannellini Beans and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pearl barley consider using buckwheat or brown rice if you are gluten-free
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 medium onions diced
- 6 ounces portobello or brown mushrooms halved if large and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- 12 ounces shredded cabbage
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika mild
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked spicy paprika agridulce or pimenton de la Vera
- 4 cups water
- 16 ounces cannellini beans 1 can, drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the barley in a pressure cooker or large soup pot, add the vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. If pressure cooking, lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure; cook under pressure for 18 minutes. (In an Instant Pot, just set the pressure to high and set the timer for 18 minutes.) Bring pressure down with a quick release method.
- If cooking in a regular soup pot, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.
- While the barley is cooking, cook the onion in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until it softens and begins to brown; adding a pinch of baking soda will speed up the browning. Once it’s beginning to brown, add the garlic and mushrooms and a little salt and pepper, reduce the heat, cover, and cook, stirring regularly, until mushrooms soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the thyme and sherry and cook until the alcohol cooks off.
- Once the barley is cooked, add the mushrooms to the barley along with the sliced cabbage and paprika. If there are dried bits in the skillet, use a little of the water to deglaze it, and add that and the remainder of the 4 cups of water to the pot too. Add the cannellini beans and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender, adding extra water if it gets too thick.
- Stir in the lemon juice just before serving and add more salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share:
Lorna Sass
Delighted you've discovered pressure cooking. If you'd like a review copy of Great Veg. Cooking Under Pressure (vegan) or Short-Cut Vegan, let me know where to send via my website. Happy cooking! Lorna Sass
Alexia
That does look delicious! I love soup!
Kim
Man, oh, man, that looks GOOD! That's the next soup in the pot, for sure!
Nava Atlas
I reviewed Love Soup in my last newsletter and did a Q & A with Anna. What a lovely person she is, and Love Soup is the kind of book you can take to read in bed, with all its stories and observations. I've made a few tasty soups from the book as well.
moonwatcher
Hey There Susan,
So glad to read this and how you found something to try in Love Soup that blossomed with your procrastinate then rush style of cooking :)–this makes me want to get it out of the library again!! This looks great, I love the idea of using red cabbage–I can see the rich color it gave the broth in your lovely photos. I willl have to explore a gluten free version sometime–mushrooms can be tricky for me, too, so when the time is right, I will try a version out and let you know how that goes. And I agree with Nava this is the kind of book you can take to read in bed–it is beautifully done in the way she mentions, and though I have not met Anna, I feel like I know her from reading them, as well as from her earlier cookbooks, which helped me to general vegetarianism so long ago.
I enjoyed reading how you adapted the cooking method, too, which needs to be done if we don't use olive oil. So thanks, again. . .the list of your newer recipes I want to try just got even longer!!
xo
moonwatcher
ps: Hi Lorna–I have had Short Cut Vegetarian for years–I used it so much it fell apart and I had a friend who repairs books at the library help me spiral bind it, so it is still on my shelf! Thanks for your recipes, too.
pps: And by the way, Susan, when are you going to add your OWN cookbook to the shelf along with these other wonderful ones? We'll all be happy to see that happen someday!
The Healthy Hostess
It looks amazing! Can't wait to try this recipe!
Anonymous
Amazing! How would this fare without the sherry?
Amber Shea
I too bought Love Soup a few weeks ago and have been reading it like a novel! I've also already tried four or five of the recipes, including the Purée of Carrot & Yam w/Citrus & Spices just last night—SO GOOD! A Vitamix is a lifesaver for those puréed ones :]
Heather
Yes, isn't it the perfect time of year for soup? I spent the last 2 weeks filming a whole bunch of soup recipes and surprisingly, I'm not sick of soup at all!
Thanks for the heads up on 'Love Soup'. I've been hearing great things about it. Your photo of the mushroom-barley soup makes we want to try it now.
Hannah
This looks so nourishing. As someone who just spent all day in arports eating over-priced and not-quite-pleasant food on account of snow-induced cancelled flights, I'd give almost anythign to have my hands cupped around this right now.
Sigh.
SusanV
Lorna, I love your books and recommend them often, especially Veg. Cooking Under Pressure. Thanks for dropping by!
Anonymous, just leave the sherry out if it's a problem for you. It just adds a touch of flavor.
And now I think I will take Nava's suggestion and take my copy of Love Soup to bed. Night all!
Kel
You are amazing. Thank you for sharing so much love with all of us. The best part is that yesterday I ordered my own copy of Love Soup. Can't wait!
Anonymous
Looks great as always, Susan! Ironically, from where I'm sitting right now all I have to do is reach out and the closest book to me is Love Soup! I've made the rustic potato leek soup numerous times and the black bean and squash soup. Both yummy and can't wait to make more.
Lorna, your name looked familiar so I checked and sure enough we have your The Pressured Cook book on our shelf!
Thanks everyone!
Island Chica
Sera
I've been following your blog for a little while now, silent (I make a slightly simpler version of your international quinoa salad fairly regularly). But I had to say that this sounds like my perfect winter soup!!! Thanks so much
Sera
Kalyn
This sounds like a great soup, and I love that you used red cabbage!
Bianca
Yum! Mushroom and barley is an amazing combination.
Seattle DUI lawyer
Definitely looks like a hearty soup! I love it.
WizzyTheStick
I absolutely love your adaptations to this recipe as I also prefer a soup that is hearthy and more of a main meal than a broth.
Mary
The spice mixture in this soup sounds wonderfully smoky and spicy! Yum! Congratulations on your new project! You take great photos.
SallyT
We had this for dinner tonight. I used brown rice because we've been eating a lot of barley and I'm the only one whose a fan around here. I also used mixed dried mushrooms which added a nice chewy texture. I didn't have the spicy smoked paprika. I added a little chipotle but not enough to give it any heat. This pleased my daughter enough that she'll be taking some leftovers to school tomorrow. However, I think the spicy paprika would probably add a nice kick that my soup was missing.
All in all this is a tasty, healthy, warming soup.
A Daring Adventure
Just wanted you to know… I can't thank you enough for this amazing website and your phenomenal recipes! Last night I made two of your recipes and they were both so good that I talked about them on my own blog:
http://bit.ly/bRLZsM
I stole your recipes and pictures but gave you ALL the credit!
As a no-fat, no-gluten, no-sugar vegan, I am so grateful for your site! Thanks again for all your hard work, your great recipes, and your great pictures!!
Houston Divorce Attorney
I am LOVING the look of this soup!
Anonymous
Looks like another winner. I've really gotten into making soup, especially during the winter. I have a request. We are just home from a skiing CO vacation and the B&B where we stayed made a wonderful vegetarian Stromboli type item for me for breakfast. Have you ever tried something like this? I will probably experiment and try and make it myself but if you have made something similar could you let me know where to look for it?
Thanks….Diane
SusanV
Diane, I haven't, but doing a quick search I found this:
Stromboli It looks good, and adaptable to whatever you want to include.
dining room table
I like soups especially during cold weathers. Thanks for this. It has been a long time since I made something for myself.
Caren
I made this soup for a little Super Bowl party I'm having tomorrow, and it is delicious! I never would've thought to put these items and flavors together. I couldn't find the smoked spicy paprika, so I used a teaspoon of smoked paprika, and added a touch of chipotle powder for spice. I don't know how my efforts compare to yours, Susan, but I love how this soup turned out. Thank-you so much for the recipe!
Anonymous
I made your mushroom barley soup for dinner last night and it was wonderful. Just what hubby and I needed on a cold MO evening. We enjoyed it so much we both went back for seconds! Thanks for the great recipe.
nannnerrr
Confused about the water and broth…actually cook 1/4 cup barley in 4 cups of broth? When do you use the other 4 cups of water? I want to make this soup today but I don't get the water piece…anyone????
SusanV
Sorry about the confusion, nannnerrr. Yes, the barley is cooked in the broth, and the water is added later, after the mushrooms. I've rewritten the instructions to make that more clear. Thanks for the question!
Fredrica
Oh I love barley soup and need to try this one asap!
maryeb
I made this yesterday and it was wonderful. I didn't have any sherry so I subbed apple cider vinegar for the sherry and lemon juice.
Thanks for another great recipe.
beckiwithani
I made lots of little changes to this. Foremost: I added a small head of chopped kale with the cabbage, and added a liberal squirt of lemon juice at the end. Both really added to the flavor of the broth.
Thank you so much for sharing! This is one I'll make regularly. Luckily I made enough to freeze some for later!
Lynne
This soup looks great, and I have and simply adore the Love Soup cookbook. I can sit and read it for hours at a time. Many of the recipes are easily adapted to be vegan and low, if not no, fat. Thanks, Susan, for sharing your passion with us!
greenlady
This looks absolutely delicious!
Anonymous
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James | cool fun games
Wow seems sooo delicious.. This would go well with rice i think, did you try it with rice?
P.S. Your blog makes me hungry all the time
Keely
Wow. We have tried a lot of lackluster recipes around here lately and I’ve been getting discouraged. I was a little hesitant about the red cabbage, but I went for it. I’m so glad that I did! This really is a very delicious soup. It may be one of my favorite FFV recipes so far. The smoked paprika is key! Don’t skip it.