- 11/2 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil
- 4 celery stalks, chopped (include the leaves if you have them)
- 4 large carrots, chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 16 ounces cremeni mushrooms sliced (see note above)
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup pearled barley
- 10 cups vegetable broth to keep the sodium to an almost-manageable level, I used half regular and half low sodium broth
Heat the oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sauté the celery, carrots and onion about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushrooms, garlic, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Sauté another 2 minutes.
Add the barley and the broth. Raise the heat to bring the contents to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium low, cover and cook for about an hour or until the soup is thick and the barley is fully cooked. Stir periodically. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Refrigerate the leftovers, which heat beautifully in the microwave. You'll probably need to add more water or broth before reheating because that barley steals all the available liquid.
Serving: 1.5 cups | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.8g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 830mg | Fiber: 7g