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Cream of Barley Soup with Shiitake

2/3 c barley, divided
1 lg. onion, diced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 T. olive oil
3 T. butter, divided
1 lg. carrot, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 lg. leek, white part diced
salt and pepper to taste
6 c. water
1 c. sour cream or cashew cream
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 lg. leek, cut into thin slivers 3 inches long

Soak 1/3 c. barley in hot water to cover; set aside. In a soup pot, saute and stir onions and oregano in 1 T. hot oil and 1 T. butter for 5 minutes. Add carrot, garlic, and diced leek; cook for 10 minutes and salt to taste. Drain barley; add it with 6 c. water to the pot; cook 30 minutes until barley is soft. Puree soup with sour cream until smooth. Return soup to pot, adjust salt and pepper, and add extra water if too thick. Rinse remaining 1/3 c. barley; cover with water and add extra salt to taste. Simmer until tender. Drain and toss in 1 T. butter. Saute mushrooms in remaining butter until golden. Serve soup in bowls with a spoonful of cooked barley, mushrooms, thin sliced leeks, and a twist of pepper.

This recipe is featured in "Cooking with the Asheville Mushroom Club" cook book on page 19.


Club members have collected hundreds of recipes featuring local
and cultivated mushrooms to create a unique specialty cookbook.

Purchase your copy at club meetings for $10 or by ordering from Ken McGill, PO Box 182, Campobello, SC 29322 for $14.95.

Click here to download an order form.

Hericium erinaceus found by
Dr. Coleman McCleneghan

Hericium erinaceus by
Dr. Coleman McCleneghan