Mushroom, Barley And Beef Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
cooking spray
3 1/2 cups slice cremini mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
12 cups finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped parsnip
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces lean stewing beef, cut into bite sized pieces
6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 cup uncooked barley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Place the porcini mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until tender. Drain mushrooms in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.
Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add cremini mushrooms and chopped onion; saute 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon onion mixture into a medium bowl. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add chopped carrot, celery, parsnip and minced garlic; saute 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add carrot mixture to onion mixture in a bowl.
Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes, browning on all sides. Add 1\u00b0C broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add remaining 5 cups broth, chopped porcini, porcini liquid, onion mixture, 2 cups water, salt, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 hour or until beef is just tender.
Discard thyme spring. Stir in barley; cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is al dente. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat; sprinkle w/parsley.