Wild Mushroom Soup With Cannellini Beans & Pearled Barley

This recipe is suitable for vegetarian, vegan, anti-inflammatory, low-glycemic, gluten-sensitive, or diabetic diets. It is my of my own creation, I have cooked professionally and personally for over 25 years. It takes about ½ hour for the celery seed and wakame flavors to blend beautifully – be patient – this is a soup which develops rather quickly in its taste. Mustard and fenugreek are soothing to the digestive system, while fennel is lubricating, and cumin reduces flatulence. Cooking beans with seaweed also serves as a natural “Bean-O.” All of the ingredients in the soup are naturally alkaline, which are soothing to the digestive system and nourishing for the blood. The wild mushrooms and wakame add a wonderful dimension of heartiness and “meatiness” to the broth which will become most apparent towards the end of cooking. This recipe is also extremely low in fat, and is dairy-free.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  sesame oil (a few drops)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1⁄8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (or pinch ground)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon celery seed (or pinch ground)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon whole cumin seed (or 1/8 t ground)
• 1  pinch ground fennel (or 1/8 t whole seeds)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves (or 1/8 t ground)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2  tablespoons mirin (Rice cooking wine, may substitute a sweet sherry if necessary)
• 1  tablespoon tamari
• 1⁄2  lemon, juice of
• 1⁄4 cup  wakame seaweed (can substitute arame, hijiki, or smaller amount of dulse or kelp to your taste)
• 1⁄4 cup Italian parsley
• 1  quart vegetable broth
• 1⁄2 lb  wild mushroom, roughly sliced (fresh or dried and reconstituted)
• 1⁄2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
• 1⁄2 large  white onion, minced
• 5  garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 2  stalks celery, sliced
•  salt, to taste

Directions

1. Heat olive and sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add mustard, fenugreek, fennel, celery and cumin seeds or powder into the oil and gently toast, with the lid on for about one minute. This method flavors the oil and thus the soup with the aromatic as well as flavor properties of the spices. Be sure to keep the pot covered as the mustard seeds will “pop” and scatter.
2. Once you’ve heard the seeds pop for about 15-20 seconds, add the onions and sautee for a few minutes. Once the onions have begun to become translucent, add the garlic and the celery. Adjust the flame as necessary, and sautee until the celery pieces are translucent.
3. Squeeze the juice of ½ lemon and 2T of mirin into the pan to deglaze it. Then, add the mushrooms and gently stir over a medium flame for approximately five minutes.
4. Add the cannelloni beans (you may use canned, this will reduce the cooking time), rinsed pearled barley, wakame, tamari, and broth. Add enough broth to cover the beans. If you are using fresh beans, add extra broth to cover an additional inch.
5. Gently stir the soup for 40 minutes, more or less, or until beans are cooked to taste. Adjust salt to your preference.