Mushroom and barley soup

In the article, letter from France A Vegetarian and Gluten- Free Guide to Paris written by Elaine Scioline. She argues that in France being vegetarian is rare. You are an odd duck, she says if you are a vegetarian in France. As a vegetarian in France you are limited by your options because only about 2% identify as vegetarian. If you were to go to a restaurant looking for a vegetarian option the most you could probably find is brown rice and vegetables. The author explores the difficulties of finding vegetarian and gluten free options in France.

photo credits to flickr and Patsy

This article inspired me to think of some Russian/ Eastern European recipes to share with you all. I am also trying to be vegetarian and I have always loved eating veggies ever since I was a baby. I wanted to find some vegetarian inspired recipes that are still just as hardy and yummy as non-vegetarian recipes. It is really hard to be vegetarian when you come from an Eastern European family because Eastern Europeans are usually big on meat and almost all recipes consist of meat.

Today I am going to share with you a mushroom and barley recipe that's hardy, earthy, simple and delicious too. I usually eat this dish either for lunch or even with dinner. I also usually add sour cream when serving this to add a little creaminess and tartness. This recipe also would be a good way to introduce mushrooms to kids because of its hardiness. Kids will just think they are eating meat when its actually mushrooms and veggies.

My dad's girlfriend taught me how to cook this, so this recipe is also a family recipe. I always helped her make this recipe, but haven't had the chance to make it by myself quite yet. So feel free to experiment with this recipe to your liking and you can also make this recipe with beef if you really want meet in it but it's not necessary. Also, you can add even more veggies to it like cabbage, potatoes etc.. You can even add fresh herbs like parsley and dill on top. 

Also with this recipe you can either use dry mushrooms or fresh mushrooms, which ever you have at hand will work. Either way it pretty much turns out the same as far as flavor. In a recipe from about.com Eastern European Food Russian Dried Mushroom Soup recipe - Sukhoĭ Gribnoĭ Sup in Slavic countries, it's a national pastime to gather and preserve mushrooms.

Ingredients:
Yields about 3 or 4 people

• 1/2 cup of barley
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 a onion, diced 1/4 inches
• 1 carrot, diced, 1/4 inches
• 2 cups of chopped mushrooms, dried or fresh 
• 3 cups of vegetable stock or water
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• A teaspoon of oil or butter

Instructions:

Fresh mushrooms

1) If you have fresh mushrooms add oil/butter and garlic and onions, mushrooms in a pan. Cook until brown and the mushrooms release their liquid. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

2) Add the stock or water to a big pot, let boil and then add barley. Will take about 30-40 minutes. Cook until the barley is almost completely soft. 

3) Then add carrots, browned mushroom mixture, salt, pepper and bay leaf and cook until everything is soft and to your liking. Will cook for another 30-40 minutes until everything is done and flavorful. 

Dried Mushrooms:

1) Soak dried mushrooms over night in a bowl of water.
2)  If you have dried mushrooms only cook the garlic and onions until brown.
3) When cooking, add dried mushrooms to a pot of water to cook with the browned onions and stock or water and carrots.
4) Add salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cook until everything is soft and flavorful. Cook barley separately until soft should take about a half an hour to 40 minutes.  Add the Barley last to the soup. Will take about an hour to cook all the way.

Lastly, remember to add sour cream to add some creaminess and tartness to the hardy soup.

Enjoy!

Do you prefer fresh or dried mushrooms why or why not?