This is a pun. Barleywine is a kind of very strong beer. This soup has barley in it, but also wine. It’s good to reduce this to a pretty thick stew. I gather that I first made this 5 years ago when I still lived in Kansas.
- A mirepoix of
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 carrots, diced
- 1 big rib of celery, diced
- 3 Tsbp butter
- 8oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 big or 2 smaller sweet potatoes, diced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced fine. Skip this if you want.
- 1/2 bottle of red wine. Your choice. Don’t spend too much money on it. See if you can find a good use for the other half of the bottle. I’m sure you can.
- Vegetable stock
- 1 C barley
- 2 Tbsp thyme
- 2 Tbsp oregano
- 2 tsp Colman’s mustard
- 3 bay leaves
- Greek yogurt
Sweat the mirepoix in the butter over medium-low heat until everything is soft and the onions are translucent. (This is the starting point for so many soups!)
Add in the mushrooms and sweet potato. Give them a stir to mix everything up. Heat things through for a minute or two.
Pour in a 1/2 bottle of red wine and get it up to a boil. Add the thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and mustard. Sage and rosemary would also work well in this. Reduce heat to a simmer and let the wine reduce by 1/2 (roughly. You’re just wanting to cook off and concentrate the wine. Don’t worry about it.)
Add in the barley and top things off with stock. You’ll want to cover the solids with 1-2″ of stock. As the barley cooks up, it’ll expand. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 45-60 minutes. Top off with stock if it starts to get too thick.
Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt in the bottom of each bowl.