Macrobiotic Mushroom Barley Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Soak porcini in 3 cups very hot water. Put olive oil in a medium saucepan and turn heat to high. Add shiitakes and carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. Add barley, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown; sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Remove the porcini from their soaking liquid, and reserve liquid. Sort through porcini and discard any hard bits.
• Add porcini to pot and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add bay leaf, mushroom soaking water and 3 cups additional water (or stock, if you prefer). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer; cook until barley is very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add soy sauce, and taste. Add salt if necessary and plenty of pepper. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Place mushrooms, barley, water, kombu, and ginger in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer 40 minutes or until barley is softened. With a handheld food processor, whiz the rolled oates into almost a flour.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onions. Add the flour and saute with onions, coating them well. Take 1/2 cup of soup from the pot and slowly stir it into onion-flour mixture, avoiding lumping. Add to soup mixture.
• Dilute miso in a cup with some of the soup. Add this liquid to the soup and let simmer 5 minutes. Right at the end, squeeze the lemon juice, if desired, into the soup. Garnish and serve.
• Feel free to build on this soup with corn kernels, diced celery, and roasted red pepper toward the end.