Pearl Barley and Mushroom Soup

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
2. 2
   Add the onion and carrot and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the mushrooms and fry 5 minutes, until they release their liquid and start to brown at the edges.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 5
   Add the barley and fry 1 minute, stirring.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Barley fried for a minute in oil before the liquids gets a toasty flavor and the grains stay more separate.
3. 6
   Add the stock, celery, rosemary and thyme and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 7
   Turn down the heat and simmer with the lid slightly open 40 minutes, until the legumes is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Remove the herb sprigs.
6. 9
   Season with salt and black pepper, taste and adjust.
7. 10
   Sprinkle the parsley on top.