Crock Pot Mushroom, Barley & Parsley Chowder

mersaydees's Note:

This is based on a recipe from Sunset's Crockery Cook Book. Its introduction says, "The cooking of Hungary provides the inspiration for this first-course vegetable soup, rich with the color, flavor, and aroma of paprika."

• Total Time: 6 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb mushroom , thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove , minced (or pressed)
• 1 medium onion , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can tomatoes (pear-shaped)
• 1 (14 ½ ounce) can beef broth
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup pearl barley , rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ½ cup parsley , finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Combine mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a 3-quart electric slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle paprika over mushroom mixture.
3. Cut up tomatoes and add them along with their liquid to the pot.
4. Add broth, water, barley, and vinegar to cooker.
5. Cover and cook at low setting until barley is very tender (6 to 7 hours).
6. Before serving, stir parsley into soup.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reviews

[Dr. Jenny]

There are many things that I liked about this chowder. First, it was very easy to prepare; second, it had wonderful consistency; third, I really liked the taste of the parsley that shone through in the dish. When I tasted the chowder, however, it tasted like it was missing something. I added some sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and garlic salt, and still it was not quite what I was looking for, so I am not sure what it was I felt was missing. DH felt the same way after trying it. Giving up, I topped my soup with grated parmesan cheese and really thought it added a nice touch. I ended up simmering about 6.5 hours.

[Pot Scrubber]

Excellent chowder! I love barley so I upped that a bit. Absolutely delicious with some hot buttered cornbread.

[Beautiful BC]

Sincethis is a proven 5 star recipe, I decided to play with it a little to suit our families taste preferences. I added 1 1b of lean ground beef. Cooked that up first before adding to the top of the ingrediants in the crock pot, with 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder & 1 tsp cajun spice (I use Emeril Lagasse's Essence - Emeril Lagasse's Essence) To the crock pot I added one 4 ounce tin of diced green chili's, 1 seeded and finely chopped jalapeno, 1 Tbsp cajun spice and used smoked paprika instead of sweet. I also upped the beef stock to 2 cups and simmered for 7 hours. This became stew like in consistancy and delicious! Served with cayenne pepper for the hot heads and some nice fresh crusty artisan bread on the side. Made for ZWT4