Bowl of Barley Vegetable Soup
(click to enlarge)

Barley Vegetable Soup


Scandinavia   -   Brennsnut (Norway)
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 qt
***
8 hrs
Yes		 A cleansing soup, often made to recover from the indulgences of December. It is made throughout Scandinavia, and I composed this recipe in reference to a half dozen similar recipes from Denmark Sweden and Norway.

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6
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Barley (1)
Onion
Mushrooms (2)
Leek
-- Root vegies (3)  
Potato (4)
Carrots
Parsnips
Celery Root (5)  
Rutabaga
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Butter or Oil
Thyme sprigs
Bay Leaves
Stock (6)
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Lemon Juice
Spinach (opt. 7)
-- Garnish
Parsley

For non-vegetarian, you can add any meats you have left over. See Note-8 on making ahead and buffet service.

Do-Ahead   -   (1-1/4 hr veg, 4-1/2 hrs chicken, 8-1/2 hours beef)
  1. Make the kind of Soup Stock you want to use. For details on making and storing stock, see our Soup Stock / Broth page.
Prep   -   (45)
  1. Slice ONION in quarters lengthwise and slice fairly thin crosswise.
  2. Slice MUSHROOMS about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into pieces appropriate to their type and size (about 3/4 inch in general).
  3. Prepare LEEK and slice fairly thin, white and light green parts only. Mix with Mushrooms.
  4. Peel POTATOES and cut into about 1/2 inch dice. Hold in cold water until needed.
  5. Peel CARROTS and PARSNIPS about 1/4 inch at the big end, longer as you get to the thin end. If very large, cut the big end in half lengthwise, or quarters for Parsnips. Mix.
  6. Peel CELERY ROOT and RUTABAGA. cut into about 1/2 inch dice. Mix with Carrots
  7. Squeeze LEMON JUICE.
  8. Chop SPINACH (If Used) coarse. Reserve some for Garnish.
  9. Chop PARSLEY for Garnish (IF not using Spinach).
Run   -   (1-1/2 to 2-1/4 hrs depending on Barley)
  1. In a heavy bottomed pot of at least 5 quarts, melt Butter and fry Onions until just translucent. Stir in Mushrooms and Leeks. Fry stirring until mushrooms are cooked through and start giving up their moisture. No browning.
  2. Stir in Barley, Thyme and Bay Leaves.
  3. Stir in Stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring now and then, until the Barley is nearly tender. This can be as little as 45 minutes for heavily pearled Barley, or 1-1/4 hours for the lightly pearled Barley I use.
  4. Drain Potatoes and stir in along with the other Root Vegies. Bring back to a boil and simmer until the Carrots and Potatoes are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
  5. Season with Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper.
  6. Adjust liquid. You probably want somewhat more than in the photo above.
  7. If using Spinach, stir it in just before taking the soup off the heat.
  8. Serve hot (or even "Brennsnut" hot), garnished with Parsley or Spinach.
NOTES:

  1. Barley:

      I use a relatively lightly pearled barley (it still has a shade of color) as it maintains a better texture and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot nearly as badly as heavily pearled barley. It does take longer to cook.

  2. Mushrooms:

      I recommend the small King Trumpet Oyster Mushrooms now common, at least here in Southern California. They are very tasty cooked (no so much raw). Regular White Mushrooms can also be used, but the flavor will be different. For details see our Fungus page.

  3. Root Vegetables

      Though Potatoes are just about always used, the other root vegetables are very flexible (though I always include Carrots). Others that can be use are Turnips (white), Kohlrabi, and Parsley Roots. Whatever combination, the total weight should be the same.

  4. Potatoes:

      White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Avoid Klondike Gold type potatoes - they quickly turn to mush with long cooking or reheating. For details see our Potatoes page.

  5. Celery Root:

      [Celeriac] Nordic people traditionally have only root vegetables available in winter. While Celery Root is quite common all year here in Southern California produce markets, it may be hard to find elsewhere. You can slice 2 celery sticks and add them with the Onions for flavor. For details see our Celery Root page.

  6. Stock:

      Use Vegetable stock for vegetarian, but, if you don't care about that, Chicken Stock or Beef Stock will also work fine. For details on making and storing stock, see our Soup Stock / Broth page. If making Vegetable Stock, I'll often prepare the Leeks and Root Vegetables earlier in the day and use the peels and offcuts as part of the stock ingredients.

  7. Spinach:

      Some recipes call for this, and, being a cold climate plant, it is often used in Scandinavia. If you use Spinach, you can use some of it for garnish instead of Parsley. Baby Spinach is for wimps and yuppies.

  8. Make Ahead:

      Barley will keep absorbing water for quite some time. When doing ahead, cook until barley is just tender enough. Cool, and refrigerate until needed. When used, bring it back to a simmer, adding water or stock as needed. Stir often to prevent the barley from burning to the bottom of the pan, and make sure there is enough liquid. For buffet service, use a bit more Garnish and just stir it into the soup right before pouring it into a slow cooker. Set cooker to "keep warm" and place it on the buffet.
  9. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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