Barley and Mushroom Soup

You’ll warm bellies and hearts when serving up bowls of this satisfying barley and mushroom soup. Sour cream and butter make it extra rich and creamy. A wedge of Irish soda bread on the side makes the perfect accompaniment. Our recipe for Irish soda bread makes one big or two small loaves.

This recipe is from the out-of-print Keepsake Quilting™ Cookbook published as a charitable fund-raiser in 2001.

1 cup quick-cooking pearl barley, or 1/2 cup pearl barley
7 cups chicken stock or water
3 onions, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 to 1-1/2 cups sour cream

Combine the barley and half the chicken stock in a medium saucepan, and simmer for 1 hour. Combine the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms in a soup pot. Add the remaining chicken stock, and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add the barley mixture, butter, salt and pepper to the vegetable mixture, and mix well. Remove from the heat, and mix in the sour cream. Garnish the servings with chopped parsley. Serve hot or cold.

Yield: 8 servings