Mushroom Barley Soup is the second recipe in my series on Ancient Grains. I'm sure you're familiar with barley, especially in its fermented liquid form, but you can put barley into your diet in other ways besidesa cold one on a Friday night. Which, I'm certainly not judging, by the way. That is still, and always will be, a perfectly fineway to get a fix of somebarley.
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All About The Goodness of Barley
People have cultivated barley as far back as 13,000 years ago. Now that definitely qualifies as an “ancient” grain, right?.
As with all whole grains, barley is rich in fibre, which helps to regulate blood sugars, reduce cholesterol, and keep your heart healthy and happy. For all the goods on this healthy grain, check out Barley: Health Benefits, Facts, Research.
Hulled barley is the whole grain, and pearl barley is the barley grain with thehull removed. When you remove the hull, you also remove a lot of the nutrition. Whole grains pack a huge nutrition profile, so, whenever possible, try to use hulled barley.
More Ancient Grains
I adore mushrooms, in all of their incredible variety. However, I do know that some people are not mushroom fans. Some folks have an issue with the texture and earthiness of mushrooms. If that is true for you, then I gotta tell you, you're looking at the wrong recipe.
Go check out some other ancient grain recipes, instead. TryFarro Stuffed Peppers, Quinoa Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad, or Farro Salad with Belgium Endive and Pomegranate.
Mushroom Barley Soup is my vegetarian take on the classic Beef Barley Soup. This soup is simply wonderful. I mean, really, delicious. There are three kinds of mushrooms here, for layers of deep mushroom flavour.
The sh*take mushrooms have a wonderful, meaty feel in your mouth, and the barley adds a hearty nuttiness with a bit of chewiness. One of the mushroom varieties in this recipe is dried and reconstituted sh*take mushrooms. It's an important ingredient because you use the soaking water in the soup, which adds a rich depth of flavour.
Dried mushrooms are a great pantry staple. They're handy to have on hand for so many recipes, likeMushroom Risotto orChicken Mushroom Lasagna.
Recipe
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Mushroom Barley Soup
Three kinds of Mushrooms, plus Barley make this a hearty, healthy and delicious soup.
Pearl barley does not need to be soaked prior to cooking because it cooks quickly. Hulled barley benefits from soaking in water for a few hours before cooking. However, you should still budget more time for the hulled grain to cook (about 35 to 40 minutes).
As barley is a starch the best you can do is dilute it, or thin it out a bit. You may need to add a fair bit of broth and more of your vegetal ingredients. Possibly to the point of doubling your recipe. It will depend on when you find the taste and texture to have gotten back to acceptable levels.
As with most grains, it is a good idea to rinse pearl barley before cooking with it — particularly if adding straight to a soup or a stew. Cooking can be accelerated by using a pressure cooker. But the most common method is to add the grains straight to a broth or stew.
Barley is high in fiber, especially beta-glucan, which may reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It may also aid weight loss and improve digestion. Whole-grain, hulled barley is more nutritious than refined, pearled barley. It can be substituted for any whole grain and easily added to your diet.
How to prepare barley. Pearl barley does not need to be soaked before use and will become tender during the cooking process. Pot barley is best when soaked overnight in cold water, then cooked in three parts liquid to one quantity of grain.
Hulled barley, considered a whole grain, has had just the indigestible outer husk removed. It's darker in color and has a little bit of a sheen. Pearled barley, also called pearl barley, is not a whole grain and isn't as nutritious.It has lost its outer husk and its bran layer, and it has been polished.
Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity: The gluten in barley can make celiac disease worse. Avoid using barley. Allergies to cereal grains: Consuming barley might cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to other cereal grains, including rye, wheat, oat, corn and rice.
However, if you consume too much of it, its fiber content can cause stomach cramps, constipation, bloating, and gas. Unwanted weight gain. Barley water is high in calories per serving. You can further increase the calorie count if you add fruit juices or sweeteners like honey to your barley water mix.
Always rinse barley before adding it to the pot. This will remove any dust or dirt that has accumulated on the grains. It will also remove some extra starch from the grains. This starch makes the end result grains stickier.
How much does barley expand when cooked? Uncooked barley triples in volume when it is cooked. One cup of raw barley yields three cups of cooked barley.
Barley water is an excellent addition to any diet if you want to lose weight. It can potentially reduce belly fat over time. In addition, its satiating properties help control hunger and cravings by making you feel fuller for longer. As a result, it leads to fewer calorie consumption and gradual weight loss.
Barley is a grain that is very similar in size and texture of brown rice. There are several different types of barley but the most common is pearl barley which is used in this recipe. I use it frequently in place of rice and pasta in many soup recipes, perfect in my Chicken Barley Soup!
First, is barley better for you than rice? Barley and brown rice both have their benefits. If you're avoiding gluten, then brown rice should be your go-to, because barley has gluten. When it comes to folate and vitamin E, brown rice wins; but barley takes the trophy for fiber (it has much, much more) and calcium.
Soaking hulled barely is always recommended. It will save you about 20 minutes of cooking time. In a large bowl, add one cup of rinsed hulled barley and 3 cups of cold water. Soak it for at least 2 hours, but better overnight.
Try soaking or sprouting the grain to reduce the antinutrient content. These preparation methods make barley's nutrients more absorbable ( 4 , 5 ). Soaking and sprouting may also increase vitamin, mineral, protein and antioxidant levels ( 6 , 7 ).
Actually, not too much. The whole-grain barley soaked overnight cooked up the next day in 35 minutes (salting made no difference in timing or texture), while the cooked-from-dry grains took only five minutes longer. Flavor-wise, there wasn't much difference.
Yes!Barley holds a good amount of starch, which will release into the soup when it's cooked.That starch will help thicken the broth to leave you with a deliciously thick, creamy soup.
Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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