I'm still on a Deborah Madison kick -- this time, her Cream of Barley Soup, from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. It's a smooth, creamy soup (thanks to puréed barley and vegetables, and reduced-fat sour cream) which delivers a nice dose of whole grains.The recipe suggested garnishing the soup with cooked barley and thin slices of sautéed leek and shitake mushroom. I did stir some additional cooked barley into the puréed soup. However, instead of using a leek/shitake mushroom garnish, I sautéed about a pound of chopped baby portobello mushrooms in one tablespoon of melted butter. I really liked the texture of the barley and mushroom chunks in the otherwise smooth soup.
Since my mom's family is Hungarian, I couldn't let a dish featuring both sour cream and mushrooms go without a little paprika.
