Mushroom Soup
A hearty Russian-style mushroom soup with dried porcini and pearl barley. The mushroom broth is intensely aromatic, the barley makes it satisfyingly thick — comfort food at its finest.
Ingredients
- 50 gdried porcini mushrooms
- 150 gpearl barley
- 3-4 piecesmedium potatoes
- 1 piececarrot
- 1 pieceonion
- 1 stalkcelery
- 50 gbutter
- 2.5 Lwater or vegetable broth
- salt and black pepper to taste
- fresh dill and parsley for serving
- sour cream for serving
Method
- Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 2-3 hours, then cook in the same water until soft. Cut cooked mushrooms into small pieces. Strain the mushroom broth through a fine sieve to remove any grit. Rinse pearl barley thoroughly and soak for several hours or overnight.
- Bring water or broth to a boil. Add soaked barley and cook on low heat until half-done, about 30-40 minutes. Peel and dice potatoes. Finely chop carrot and onion. Slice celery.
- Melt butter in a pan, add onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté until golden.
- Add cooked mushrooms and mushroom broth to the barley. Add sautéed vegetables and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped herbs a few minutes before done. Serve with sour cream if desired.
FAQ
The best flavor comes from a combination: fresh cremini or shiitake for body, plus a handful (15–20 g) of dried porcini or chanterelles for depth. Dried mushrooms are concentrated umami; their soaking liquid (strained through cheesecloth) is liquid gold — add it to the broth. Frozen mushrooms work but release a lot of water: cook them straight from frozen over high heat without a lid so the moisture evaporates. Button mushrooms alone have weak flavor — always boost them with dried varieties.
Three common mistakes: 1) insufficient browning — mushrooms need to fry over high heat until golden, not steam; 2) no umami boost — add 1–2 teaspoons of soy sauce or a little tomato paste, they are barely detectable but add depth; 3) weak broth — use mushroom or chicken broth, not plain water. Secret combination: thyme and garlic sautéed together with the mushrooms. Finishing touch: a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of apple cider vinegar just before serving wakes up all the flavors.
Without flour: blend half the soup, leaving the other half with mushroom pieces — this gives a rich consistency without starch. Another method is to add a potato or a piece of bread during cooking. With flour: fry 2 tablespoons of flour in butter for 1–2 minutes until it smells nutty, then gradually whisk in the broth to prevent lumps. Potato starch can be used instead of flour (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of broth).
Yes. Instead of cream: coconut cream provides a lush texture with a slight sweetness that pairs well with forest mushrooms. Oat cream is more neutral. Completely dairy-free: simply blend more mushrooms with the broth — mushrooms themselves give a rich, creamy consistency, especially shiitake. Stir in a little olive oil at the end to provide the roundness that cream would normally give.
In the refrigerator it keeps for 3–4 days and tastes better the next day. Freezing is fine, but only without cream: cream separates after thawing. Add it during reheating. The soup thickens in storage — add a splash of broth or water when reheating. If the soup contains whole mushroom pieces, they will soften slightly after freezing, which is normal.
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Comments (1)
Start with cold water for mushroom soup. Adding dried porcini mushrooms to cold water and bringing it up slowly extracts far more flavor than dumping ingredients into a rolling boil. The difference in depth is significant.