Charred mushroom broth with barley, dill & crème fraîche

Name: Charred mushroom broth with barley, dill & crème fraîche
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 30 g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Wild Mushrooms; 1½ Kallø Organic Mushroom Stock cubes; 150 g pack shiitake mushrooms; 125 g pack No.1 Maitake Mushrooms; 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more to serve; ½ leek, finely diced; 1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced; 15 g butter; 2 clove/s garlic, thinly sliced; 80 g pearl barley; 20 g pack dill, leaves chopped; 4 tbsp crème fraîche

This recipe from Charmaine Katz uses dried and fresh mushrooms for a hearty soup that tastes like the floor of a forest – fungal, earthy, and dank – horrible words when describing food, but the result is an umami-packed, deeply savoury broth. Follow Charmaine on Instagram.

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VegetarianHealthyHigh fibre1 of your 5 a day9 plant varieties

Serves4
CourseMain meal
Prepare10 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr

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30g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Wild Mushrooms
1½ Kallø Organic Mushroom Stock cubes
150g pack shiitake mushrooms
125g pack No.1 Maitake Mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more to serve
½ leek, finely diced
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
15g butter
2 clove/s garlic, thinly sliced
80g pearl barley
½ x 20g pack dill, leaves chopped
4 tbsp crème fraîche

Put the wild mushrooms into a large jug, crumble in the stock cubes, then add 1L just-boiled water. Stir, then set aside. Tear any larger fresh mushrooms into smaller pieces so they are a similar size for even cooking. Separate, then thinly slice any larger shiitake stalks (they can be woody and tough, so it helps to break them down into smaller pieces).
Place a large, heavy saucepan over a high heat. Once hot, dry fry the mushrooms for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until they release most of their water and are charred and cooked through. Season with a generous pinch of salt, then remove from the saucepan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with some stock if needed, scrape up any golden crusty bits and add back into the stock.
Put the same pan back over a medium-low heat, add 2 tbsp oil and the leeks and carrots, then season generously and cook until softened and smelling sweet, 8-10 minutes.
Add the butter, garlic and a pinch of salt, cook for 2 minutes on a medium heat, then mix the mushrooms back in. Stir in the pearl barley, toast for 1 minute, then pour over the hydrated mushrooms and stock, with 400ml water. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, then cover with a lid and cook for 20-30 minutes more, until the barley is cooked through and has a little bite.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in half the dill. Ladle into wide bowls and top with the crème fraîche, remaining dill, and a drizzle of oil, then serve.

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