Mixed Mushroom Soup Recipe
A big, hearty mushroom soup made with a mish-mash of market mushrooms, pearled barley, toasted sesame oil, and onions.
Big, hearty soups are what appeal to me this time of year - flavorful broths punctuated with earthy mushrooms, starchy beans, long-cooked onions, or chunks of roasted winter squash. The sort of soups and stews that are able to take their place at the center of a meal instead of being relegated to a side dish. This is exactly the sort of soup I made over the weekend. I used a mish-mash of market mushrooms, a bit of cooked barley, and a good dose of onions. I gave it a bit of a Japanese flavor profile by using toasted sesame oil and shoyu/soy sauce as finishing elements. Quick, hearty, and satisfying.
You've heard me say it before, there a few things that help me eat well throughout the week - even when things get busy. I make over-sized pots of soup, like this one, let the leftovers cool to room temperature, then freeze them off in quart-sized baggies. A lot of the soups I love have grains and veggies and often some element of protein. They make for quick, one-pot lunches and dinners that you can pull from the refrigerator or freezer and have on the table in under ten minutes. It feels awesome. I've found on days when I'm too busy to shop, or cook something from scratch, these sorts of soups are just the thing I crave. And its a nice option to have versus eating out or ordering take-out.
As I mention down below, I made this soup with barley, but it could also work well with wild rice or brown rice. You could also skip the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, and take things in an entirely different direction. A bit of smoked paprika and lemon creme fraiche might be interesting. Or what if you did a saffron yogurt swirl, like we did for this lentil soup and added lots of chopped chives to finish?
And a little housekeeping, if you'll permit? Somehow, six months has passed since the last update on my new cookbook. Not sure how that happened, but I assure you - plenty has been going on behind the scenes. I turned in the manuscript over the summer, we decided on an entirely new jacket, a handful of people I deeply admire were kind enough to write notes for the back cover, and if all went well last week, Super Natural Every Day should be at the printer. I can't believe I'm actually typing that sentence. I promise to do a proper write up and post a bunch of pics sometime in the next couple of weeks.
And! before it slips my mind - I know many of you are on the lookout for vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, and vegan ones as well. I updated those pages the other day and hope some of these recipes might make it to your holiday tables.
And lastly - a few of us have started cooking recipes from the newly-released Essential New York Times Cookbook. I think we'll focus on it through November, and then pick another cookbook to focus on in December. Please join us if you like! I learn much from spending time with individual books - and I bet you will too. So far, I've cooked Bill Granger's Scrambled Eggs, a variation on the Poppy Seed Torte, and the Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles - you can see my notes here. Judy Rodger's Warm Bread Salad is next on my list. -h
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Mixed Mushroom Chowder
As I mention in the main pot, I used cooked pearl barley that I happened to have bagged and frozen on hand. I could've just as easily reached for brown rice, wild rice, or even wheatberries - use whatever you've got! On the mushroom front - use a combination of mushrooms - brown, porcini, chanterelle, etc. The soup was particularly good with a slab of grilled sesame seed bread from Tartine.
You might add a bit of cubed pan-fried tofu, tempeh, or seitan, crouton-style to make this a complete one-dish meal. And as far as leftovers go, for a slightly more decadent version, I'm thinking about whipping up a bit of heavy cream, adding the toasted sesame oil to it, salting it, and serving the soup with a dollop of the cream plus some chives on top...
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or clarified butter
1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
fine grain sea salt & freshly ground pepper
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons shoyu or soy sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked pearled barley
6 cups / 1.5 l good-tasting vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
finely chopped chives, to serve
In your largest, widest soup pot heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring a couple times along the way, until the mushrooms release their liquid and they are deeply browned. About 8 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan, set aside on a plate.
Using the same pot, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and cook until tender, a few minutes. Stir 2 tablespoons of the shoyu, barley, and then the vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat a bit. Add the mushrooms and cook another 10 minutes or so. Stir in the toasted sesame oil and taste. You might want to add remaining tablespoon of shoyu or soy sauce, particularly if your broth wasn't very salty. And you might want to add more toasted sesame oil a few drops at a time. Just keep tweaking until everything balances out for you. Serve sprinkled with lots of chopped chives.
Serves about six.
Prep time: 15 minutes - Cook time: 20 minutes
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Comments
Thanks for another delicious soup recipe! After (happily) leaving cream of mushroom soup behind in my childhood, I decided to try your porcini soup recipe. It’s a new favourite and inspired me to try this one as well. Delicious! I’ll be enjoying it throughout the week with a poached egg for breakfast.
Finally got around to making this. Like most soups it was even better the second day. My husband devoured it! It was perfect for a cold, windy Tokyo night. Thanks, Heidi.
I just tried making this recipe! It turned out great. I had cooked quinoa in the fridge, so I used that instead of barley and I wilted a little spinach with the mushrooms. Worked out really well.
I love mushroom soup! I just wrote a recipe for some the other day. My recipe is a little more herby, earthy and rich. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
handmeafork.blogspot.com/2010/12/delicious-mushroom-soup.html
love all of your recipes and this one especially since I love mushrooms. Have been slowly introducing you recipes into our family meals & subtracting the more unhealthy ones. Your site has helped open the eyes of our family to a better eating healthy & enjoying it. I look forward to your new book.
Thanks
Made this last night and it was mighty tasty. I used brown rice instead of barley.
Gonna eat the leftovers tonight… perfect weekend for delicious soup!
Jackie
I just finished and devoured this soup!
I have been craving mushrooms lately and was thrilled when I saw this recipe. For a little added flavor, I sauteed some seitan in my favorite sesame teriyaki sauce and then added the cubes to the soup right before I ate it. Very filling and tasty!
What is a good tasting vegetable broth? I haven’t been able to find one and it’s prevented me from making soup. I live in SF so any local recommendations also appreciated.
Thanks!
http://clubdinein.wordpress.com
A pleasant holiday shopping season to you and your readers. Thanks for continuing these posts on your blog.
I saw *the most* gorgeous mushrooms at my farmer’s market the other day, so I bought a few pounds of them and figured I’d be able to use them in something. Then I saw your recipe and I made this soup. Yummers! I’m a soupaholic, so this is a nice additional to my repertoire ( I just made a parsnip puree with poached egg and wild mushrooms- on top). My son, who is 14 months, loved it pureed as well. Would a bit of miso work? Happy holidays.
In response to Kendra’s inquiry about a good veggie broth, I really like Rapunzel, especially the No Salt version when I am making a recipe that involves added salt/shoyu like this one.
Berkeley Bowl just had a huge mixed bag of mushrooms in their reduced produce aisle for 98 cents, so I snapped it up to make this soup! So delicious and cheap. I didn’t have regular sesame oil but used a couple drops of chili sesame oil, which gave it a nice warming kick!
Heidi~
I LOVE mushroom soup!
Thank you for posting this one!
Lisa
xo
Wow, this looks so hearty and delicious!
Sweet looking dish to say the least.
Just made this…fantastic! Hearty winter food, fantastically tasty and incredibly more-ish. Will be eating more of it later this evening whilst watching tv. AWESOME RECIPE, THANKS FOR SHARING
Heidi, this recipe, like SO many of yours, absolutely hit the spot. I made it on Monday for my parents — Dad’s a vegetarian so it was ideal, Mom’s a meat-lover but didn’t miss that at all in this meal — and for my boyfriend, fresh off a 15-hour flight, as a comforting coming-home meal. Used fresh baby portobello and oyster, and reconstituted chanterelles. Fabulous for a chilly November New Jersey evening.
i love this soup
I made this soup on Sunday night to enjoy during the week. It was delicious. And my husband, who is not a huge fan of mushrooms, loved it too. Thanks for another keeper.
I made this the other night with baby shitakis and dried porchinis (from the farmer’s market) and baby bellas (from the grocery store). The baby shitakis were bite sized and the flavor was the highlight of the soup. This is so easy and so yummy. My boyfriend was devastated when he found out I beat him to the last bowl of soup.
I haven’t made your mushroom soup, but did want to let you know I made the pear cake (posted from 2005 – https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000725.html) and it was AMAZING! Simple and very delicious.
I also made your Rosemary Olive Oil Cake awhile back and enjoyed that as well. One friend commented that she’d prefer less rosemary and one commented that she’d prefer without the chocolate, but my husband and I liked it just as it was written.
Thank you for such a beautiful and inspiring blog, Heather.
I forgot to post my winery web address….Thank you!
I made this soup today….it took a little longer than I imagined to make it all…but IT was delicious!!! I used beef broth as the stock ( I am not a vegetarian) Everyone loved this soup! I tripled the recipe and served it at my winery! ( it went great with our big red wines) I also served it with homemade croutons and that was the icing on the cake! Thank you for this recipe!
Just wanted to report back – I made this with wild rice instead of barley so that I would have an excuse to make the Wild Rice Flour Pancakes from SNC (they were great by the way) and it turned out well. I’d like to try it with the barley but I’m feeling all mushroom-ed out for now. I did try my spinach idea, I used about 1.5 cups of finely chopped spinach which I think worked out very well. I was using some particularly hearty spinach so I added it about 5 minutes before the soup was done. I ended up cooking it a bit longer than recommended to soften the mushrooms up more. Very delicious, and a little goes a long way, it filled me up very quickly.
This looks delicious and hearty! I only wish we had more mushroom varieties in Australia.
After nice rains like yesterday, chantrelles grow in my backyard, so i will surely be making this today!
I love mushrooms so will have to give this a try – looks delicious! It was great meeting you at the Foodbuzz Blogger event. Thanks for taking the time to chat – you and Wayne are the nicest. By the way, I posted a picture of you and I on my blog. Thanks again.
HS: You too Amy!
Made this last night and am currently eating a bowl for lunch. It is even better the next day! I think this is my new favorite soup!
fabulous recipe as always heidi!!
one note is that i found the soup to be a bit thin when we ate it right after i’d cooked it up… after spending a night in mason jars in the fridge the mushroom-y deepened significantly and the starch from the barley thickened up the soup making it even more delicious and hearty!
I made this tonight. Perfectly delicious. I made my own vegetable stock, located a nice variety of mushrooms and I used wild rice. Grilled French bread, an arugula salad and white wine. Nice evening.
Ooh, I love the sesame oil in here. This soup looks wonderful and just packed with mushroom flavor.
Wow! Looks and sounds delicious!
I want to try this recipe for this weekend.
You mentioned that you cooked Bill Granger’s scrambled eggs. Bill is a favourite Australian chef and his food is very popular. He was recently a guest cook on Australian ABCTV – “Poh’s Kitchen” . He and Poh cooked on the theme of breakfasts. He made Shakshouka and Poh made Eggs poached in chorizo and bean salsa. I made the Shakshouka this morning and can recommend this recipe. It will appeal to North American and Spanish tastebuds. You can find the episode here.
Heidi,
Will you come on a wild mushroom foray with us? Our first class of the season is Sunday, November 28. Email me.-Donna
HS: Sounds great Donna – I’ve been looking to get up your way sometime soon – a getaway of some sort. I’ll email you.
I make a similar soup when I’m under the weather, but this one is much simpler with fewer ingredients. And your timing couldn’t be better– got walloped with a head cold last night and made a big pot of this today. Feeling better already. Your soup recipes always hit the spot, no matter how I’m feeling. Thanks for another one, Heidi.
Heidi,
Gorgeous recipe. Mushroom soup is incredibly satisfying and filling.
I also like the Polish approach, stated by Allie above, with dill and sour cream.
Hey Heidi, the photograph of the soup was just too tempting to resist!!!! Made this yesterday night, and am gonna have it again in lunch… Just made few alterations; added baby bok choy and kale for extra nutrition and threw in some left over rice!!! All in all, a superb and satisfying recipe! It sometimes surprises me how your recipes use a lot of Asian and Indian touches…Dats perfect, coz it gives me a whole gamut of flavors to explore and keeps everyday meals interesting!
I’ve seen this recipe yesterday morning and immediately knew I had to make something similar for lunch. And indeed I did.. I added brown rice in place of pearled barley, cubes of smoked tofu, and a good squeeze of fresh ginger juice. Really delicious. Thank you for the inspiration Heidi!
Best,
J
This is so earthy and delicious. A bowl of this soup in the winter is so comforting.
This is so earthy and delicious. A bowl of this soup in the winter is so comforting.
Yumm…I made this last night and it was perfect on a chilly Seattle night. I added a pinch of red pepper flakes, just a little kick! Thanks for the great recipe.
Delicious! I love to do this too – make a big pot and freeze leftovers for during the week. Smart, delicious cooking 😉
Heidi xo
Congraulations on the book! I hav been waiting for my book from the printers I am using for the past 6 months! I could write a book alone on the stories I have been spun!
Ilove the sounds and look of your mixed mushroom soup.
🙂 Mandy
Wonderful, perfect – just what I was looking for!!
Heidi, Hurry up and get to the Bread Salad. It’s really that good. Just worked my way through it this fall and am sorry I waited so long.
what a delicious recipe ever made. I really love mushroom. Actually we raised cultured mushroom on our backyard and it’s great.
I love mushrooms, too, and the addition of the toasted sesame oil is the trick that will kick this dish up a level!
this soup looks magnificent. i wish my husband liked mushrooms. next time i know he’ll be working late, i am definitely making this for me!
my husband and i grow mushrooms for our local farmers market— this looks like a great recipe to try and pass on to our customers! thanks!
Yum one of my favorites!
great photos.
Hi Azia! Say hi to your mom and family for me. Love from Ca. -h
congratulations on the cookbook Heidi. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy once it’s out..and then review it on 101library, of course 😉
Thanks Emm 🙂
I love mushroom dishes. Great work with the photography too. I love it.
How did you know I have a ton of mushrooms just waiting for me to do something with them? So excited for this recipe and I like the decadent option! Yummmm… thanks again Heidi and I cannot wait to buy your brand new book!
I really love mushroom soups! This one looks so good… I wish it was in my freezer right now! Can’t wait to see the new book!
Whenever I cook, it’s usually just for myself so I eat the leftovers for a few days. One pot meals are my favorite for this reason, so I often end up making soups. I loooove mushrooms, so will need to try this recipe!
Looks delicious! I love mushrooms and will plan to make this as soon as we get some semblance of winter weather here in LA!
Do you have a recommendation for a good, rich-tasting (store-bought) veggie broth? I’ve tried so many different kinds in vain; the flavor always falls flat. I’d love to find a rich tasting veggie broth that is also MSG/additive free. Does such a thing exist? Help!
Thanks! 🙂
this mushroom soup looks delicious! thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Love the updated mushroom barley soup!
I also like the idea of little protein infused croutons
made with crispy tofu or seitan pieces.
Thanks Heidi!
I too am a soup-o-holic! I love a good soup especially this time of the year…this is a delicious recipe that I am going to create on the next chilly evening. Thanks Heidi!
Y. U. M. I can smell this cooking already. So healthy and so delicious!!!!
This looks great..perfect for the windy, damp, cold weather we’ve been tolerating with here. I love mushroom soup, but I must admit I’m guilty of using the sodium filled can much too often…this is a much healthier alternative. I do this strange thing where I through in some canned tuna and green peas…we call it tuna medley here…but it’s absolutely outstanding!
how do you cook just plain barley? Thank you
This looks pitch-perfect for here, now.
And I totally agree — those prepared bits and pieces (grains and soups) make or break a week.
Looking forward to your new book–congratulations on going to print!
And that soup–simple and sumptuous–looks like I need to pick up some fabulous mushrooms this weekend from the mushroom man. Your ‘decadent version’ in your note sounds amazing! Thanks!
There can’t be many more words that sound better that ‘mushroom soup’ or taste more comforting. Knowing you have a freezer full is like facing the winter with a really warm blanket.
Add some cooked garbanzos to that for a little extra MMM Mmm mm mm ! ! !
This looks so yummy! I plan to top mine with a bit of sauteed crab meat… thank you for the recipe!!!
As a confirmed soup-o-holic (who just had tortilla soup for breakfast), yes on all accounts. It warms my deepest being just thinking of it.
You read my mind. This soup sounds and looks delicious. Living in the mushroom capitol of the world (KSQ, PA) enables me access to fresh mushrooms all year round.
HS: Yay KSQ, say Hi to the Graham family if you see them around town. Four kids, great looking parents. Hard to miss. Nikki and I grew up together 🙂 -h
you read my mind. made the mushroom casserole last night and was talking about how I needed to make a mushroom soup real soon. this will be a great, light (in the non-greasy/fatty sense), post-Thanksgiving treat.
I love the simplicity of this soup. And I love the high mushroom content! I have been loving mushrooms lately. So good.
As I’m looking at this for the second time I’m wondering if there’s any room for a finely chopped leafy green? Spinach perhaps? I would love to hear some opinions on that.
HS: I think that would be a mighty fine addition Monica – I’d add it at the last minute.
YUM! My husband is not much of a soup person, but loves my standard wild mushroom soup recipe I got from some random seasonal vegetarian cookbook found about 10 years ago! I use about a pound of assorted expensive mushrooms and stretch it with another pound of criminis. 2 shallots sauteed in butter, broth, and the mushrooms. Salt, pepper, and a cup of half-and-half at the end.
I don’t know if he’ll go for the Asian-inspired, but I’m definitely adding smoked paprika next time I make it.
BTW, he’ll eat your curry pumpkin soup at the drop of a hat.
This soup looks lovely. Mushroom soups are so often blended and creamy–the fact that this is neither makes it interesting!
I love soups in the fall and winter. And then by spring I am sick of them again, so I will have to enjoy them while I can!
Coming from a Polish family, my favorite flavoring for mushroom soup is fresh dill and a little sour cream. I’ll have to try the toasted sesame oil and soy sauce next time since that is one of my favorite go-to flavor combinations for quick meals.
Congrats on the book!! This mushroom soup looks amazing and perfect for the fall. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I’m really intimidated by mushrooms. I haven’t been exposed to that many varieties of them, and haven’t yet ventured outside of the safe button/crimini/portobello world in terms of my cooking.
This soup seems to take a lot of that intimidating out of it, though, and it looks so warming and delicious for a cold winter’s day!
Lovely! I’m also a big fan of soups for week nights. Kids love it. We love it. It’s so comforting at this time of year too.
I make at least one pot of soup a week, and freeze a couple of yogurt-sized containers. My freezer has quite a nice variety. Some evening, there are two or three types of soups around the table. The kids love picking their soup out of the freezer! Whatever works, right?
Congratulations on the new book. Can’t wait to see it.
Those mushrooms look divine. A good reason to break out of boring white mushrooms and try something new!
I come from a country where mushrooms are used in hundreds of different recipes. I absolutely love them!
On your pictures I see my favorite chanterelles.
I recently posted a recipe for creamy chanterelles on toast. and although they are not easy to buy in the US, they are worth trying.
Congrats, Heidi! Your Super Natural Cooking book is a staple in my kitchen 🙂
This soup looks fantastic! I also cook up a huge batch of soup over the weekend to help me eat healthy during the week. Will have to try this soon. I usually make lentil soups as they are so filling
Congratulations on the book!
Mushroom soup is one of my favorites. Love the addition of barley and soy sauce.
Magda
Congrats on the new book! This soup looks great!
This soup looks so lovely. Great recipe!
somehow I never manage to make my oversized pots of soup big enough to realize the plan you have outlined. My family loves them so much, and they feel so guilt-free, that they never last for more than two meals!
congratulations on your cookbook – I can’t wait to know more about it!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I’ve always heard about the wonderful health benefits of mushrooms, but beyond Italian food, I struggle with ways to incorporate them into my diet. The idea for this soup is great and I love the suggestion to add tofu to it to make it more of a “one-pot” meal. Tartine is one of my favorite bakeries in SF! I’m sure the sesame seed bread was divine 🙂
Heidi, exciting news regarding your book & I am curious if the jacket you chose was one from the selection you posted a while back. Secondly, I love the idea of the group approach to books in the 101 library – I am very tempted by the NYT book having had a look at a copy this week – I love that Bill Granger’s scrambled eggs are creating a bit of a buzz as I have never made them despite having had a copy of his book Sydney Food for over 10 years!
HS: Hi Kate – the eggs are beyond decadent, and perfect for a weekend brunch. I made them again for a house guest the other morning. I suspect, they are going to fast become my “special occasion” eggs.
Congratulations on the book!
Now is definitely time of the year for soups and this sounds and looks absolutely lovely.
I love the earthiness of mushroom soups, and the addition of sesame oil sounds wonderful. I’ll certainly have to give this recipe a go.
oh! and big congratulations on your new book! i’ve already placed my pre-order… Super Natural Cooking is a go-to in my house and can’t WAIT for the follow up.
this looks perfect. hearty but not heavy. and savory whipped cream is a terrific idea for topping a bowl of soup! I’m sure you’ve mentioned a favorite vegetable broth here before, but could you remind us what you prefer to use?
Congrats on the book! I look forward to buying it. I’m in the process of having my own vegetarian cookbook published (it’s not being released until Spring 2011), and I am so looking forward to saying those words too!! Best of luck:) Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
I’ve been wanting to try to make some soups and chillis this winter (I’ve only made one before). This one seems like an easy one to try and it looks so yummy and hearty!
I have been quite intrigued with mushrooms lately. I bought some very fresh trumpet mushrooms and they were delicious. I have also tried some pom poms and maitakes recently. All very different but delicious. I love a good mushroom soup. But even in mushroom country it can be difficult finding fresh mushrooms on the shelves and the farmers markets don’t last forever!
One of my Friday farmers’ markets has a mushroom vendor, and I always go unprepared without a plan for the week and never feel like I can buy mushrooms since they don’t last very long. This Friday is the last day of the market and now I know exactly what I want to do.
A few weeks ago I hated soup… not sure why, but now I’m suddenly obsessed and making every soup recipe I come across. I just made your Ribollita a few days ago – I froze a ton and still had plenty for a few meals already this week. It’s by far my new favorite soup AND it’s converting me to beans, too.
Absolutely can’t wait for your new book! 🙂
Congratulations on the book! I’m sure it has been a lot of labor – but I hope all comes out beyond your wildest dreams! I’ll be picking up a copy. 🙂
Or maybe I’ll ask Santa for it.
The soup looks filling, hearty and still is healthy, my kind of chilly day meal.
I really, really love mushrooms. It’s supposed to be chilly and *hopfully* rainy this weekend here… Will need to run to the market to get the ingredients to make this soup. What perfect timing with the weather. Thanks Heidi!
Heidi, this look wonderful and mushrooms are so beautiful right now. I agree big time on making big pots of soup, so great for lunches too!
Sometimes I add some miso and a little ginger as well. I like the sounds of the smoked paprika and lemon creme fraiche idea.
Thanks for the continued inspiration.
Hooray for big pots of soup or anything I can make a glug of and pull out later, especially if it’s one of your recipes!
Can’t wait to hear about the new book. I’m still loving SNC!
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