Russian Mushroom and Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 ounce dried mushroom (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 large onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves (minced or pressed)

• 3 (10 1/2 ounce) cans condensed consomme
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 large potato, pared and coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 cup quick-cooking barley (if using regular barley instead of the quick-cooking barley, add 45 minutes to the cooking time)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 slice lemon zest

Directions

1. 1

   If using dried mushrooms, soak them in 1/2 cup of hot water for about 20 minutes.

2. 2

   Slice and set aside, reserving soaking water, too.

3. 3

   Put the oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven,add 2 tablespoons of the butter and melt the butter over medium heat.

4. 4

   Saute the onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.

5. 5

   Stir in the consomme and water and add the potato, celery, carrots, bay leaves, dill, barley and the reconstituted mushrooms and soaking water.

6. 6

   Add salt and pepper to taste, bring the soup to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes (about an hour if using regular barley), until the barley is tender.

7. 7

   Clean the fresh mushrooms, cut off and discard woody stem ends, and cut the smaller mushrooms in half and the larger ones into quarters.

8. 8

   Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and saute the mushrooms until some liquid has been yielded and no raw color shows.

9. 9

   Stir mushrooms and liquid into the soup and simmer 5 minutes.

10. 10

    Remove and discard the bay leaves.

11. 11

    Just before serving, put the sour cream in a medium bowl and stir a cup or so of hot soup into it to temper it.

12. 12

    Stir the diluted sour cream into the soup and serve immediately (don't cook the sour cream), garnished if you like with strips of lemon zest.