Ingredients
Olive Oil, 1 tbsp
Onions, raw, 1 cup, chopped
Garlic, 1 tsp
Mushrooms, fresh, 16 medium, sliced or torn in chunks
Balsamic Vinegar, 3 tbsp
Worcestershire Sauce, 5 tsp
Vegetarian Vegetable Broth, 1 can (approx. 14 oz)
Whole Wheat Flour, 1/4 cup
Milk, 2%, 1 cup
Directions
Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil
Add mushrooms and cook for 5 – 10 mins
Add balsamic and worcestershire – cook 2 mins
Add 1 cup barley, broth and 3 cups water
Simmer approx 20 mins
Whisk together flour and milk thoroughly, add to soup
Simmer 5 – 10 more mins
Add mushrooms and cook for 5 – 10 mins
Add balsamic and worcestershire – cook 2 mins
Add 1 cup barley, broth and 3 cups water
Simmer approx 20 mins
Whisk together flour and milk thoroughly, add to soup
Simmer 5 – 10 more mins
Source/Lineage
This recipe was modified (vegetarian) from the recipe
featured in Fitness Magazine – January 2011.
The Nitty Gritty
Nutritional info per serving obtained via SparkPeople Recipes:
- Servings Per Recipe: 5
- Calories: 110.0
- Total Fat: 4.0 g
- Cholesterol: 3.9 mg
- Sodium: 464.4 mg
- Total Carbs: 15.0 g
- Dietary Fiber: 12.0 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
Inspiration
There are so few soup recipes or restaurant offerings that are truly vegetarian. I’m amazed at the number of restaurants that make vegetable soup… with chicken or beef broth. I crave warm, comforting soups in the winter and typically have to count on making them myself to fit the vegetarian bill. As a side note – I’m not a wimpy soup lover. Watery French onion soup and the like don’t make the cut in our test kitchen. I’ll typically amp up a soup with pasta, rice, barley etc. to give it more heft as a meal.
I usually serve this (and most other soups) with a round of whole wheat sandwich thins/rounds (recently popular and easy to find in most grocery stores) with provolone or parmesan cheese on top – no butter needed. About 5 minutes at 350 – 400 degrees to melt the cheese plus 2 – 3 minutes on broil to give it that cheesy toasty goodness fits the bill at our house. Enjoy!
