Recipe - Polish Mushroom And Barley Soup

1 ounce Dried mushrooms
(such as porcini; boletus,
or cepe)
10 cup Beef stock; fresh or canned
2 cup Water
1 cup Pearl barley
One fourth cup Butter
2 Carrots; minced
1 pound Potatoes; peeled and minced
1 Celery stalk; chopped
One half cup Green beans; fresh or
frozen, cut 1/2" pieces
1 tablespoon Parsley; chopped
One half cup Sour cream
Freshlyground black pepper;
to taste
Salt; to taste

Soak the mushrooms for One half hour in 1 cup of warm water. Drain the mushrooms
reserving the water. Chop the mushrooms into 1/2inch dice. Pour the
mushroom water through a fine strainer into the beef stock, avoiding any
sand or grit that may be in the bottom of the bowl. Bring the 2 cups of
water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the barley and simmer, covered,
until all the moisture is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir the butter into
the barley. Set aside. Heat the beef stock in a large pot and add all the
remaining ingredients except the sour cream. Bring to a simmer and add the
barleybutter mixture, stirring well to separate the grains. Cook, covered,
about 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and garnish with a dollop
of the sour cream.

Comments: The Poles love to use mushrooms in all sorts of dishes. The above
soup is thick and rich with the flavor of this forest delicacy. The dried
mushrooms are a lot less expensive if you buy then in bulk in an Italian or
Polish market.

Recipe Source: THE FRUGAL GOURMET by Jeff Smith From the 01081992 issue
The Springfield UnionNews

Formatted for MasterCook by Joe Comiskey, aka MR MAD jpmd44a@prodigy.com
~or MADSQUAD@prodigy.net

07101994

Recipe by: Jeff Smith

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