Great Mushroom Barley Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, sliced
• 3 quarts chicken broth (2 large cans with any fat spooned off the top)

Recipe

• 1 in a large pot, melt the butter.
• 2 add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté until tender, but not browned.
• 3 add the mushrooms.
• 4 cook just until soft.
• 5 add the broth, seasonings and barley.
• 6 bring to a boil.
• 7 simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the barley is tender.
• 8 the soup can be thinned with additional broth if it becomes too thick.