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A white bowl of mushroom barley soup with a few slices of lemon on top.

MUSHROOM LEEK BARLEY SOUP

Author: Kate
A light spring soup recipe with caramelized mushrooms, barley, sherry, and thyme.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 188kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Brown mushrooms. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add mushrooms and stir to coat in oil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a bowl.
  • Sauté vegetables. Heat remaining 1/4 cup of oil in the same pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks, garlic, and carrots and season generously with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned, about 10 minutes. Add sherry or madeira and scrape up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
  • Simmer. Return mushrooms to the pot and add the thyme, barley, and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook until barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed (I add about 1 tablespoon more salt). Remove thyme stems before serving. Ladle into bowls and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over the soup.

Notes

  1. Freezing Instructions: You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months but the barley will get very soft and soak up a lot of the liquid. If you plan on freezing it, it's best to cook the barley separate and add after thawing. 
  2. Slow Cooker Instructions: Brown the mushrooms and vegetables through step 2 on the stovetop. Transfer to a slow cooker (affiliate link) and continue with step 3. Cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
  3. Browning the mushrooms: Do not salt the mushrooms until after they are browned. Salting too early will draw out their water and steam them instead of brown them.
  4. Seasoning. If your soup doesn't taste awesome when it is done cooking you probably didn't add enough salt. Keep adding salt by the teaspoon until it tastes incredible. I usually end up adding 2-3 teaspoons at the end.