Mushroom, Barley And Beef Soup

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup boiling water
• cooking spray
• 3 1/2 cups slice cremini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 12 cups finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsnip
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 12 ounces lean stewing beef, cut into bite sized pieces
• 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 cup uncooked barley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Recipe

• 1 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.
• 2 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.
• 3 heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. add beef; cook 3 minutes, browning on all sides. add 1°c 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.
• 4 discard thyme spring. 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 w/parsley.