Mushroom, Barley, and Beef Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup barley uncooked
• 12 ounces beef stew meat lean cut into bite-sized pieces
• 0.3 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 0.5 cup carrots finely chopped ( 1 medium)
• 0.5 cup celery finely chopped
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
• 0.3 ounce porcini mushrooms dried
• 2 tablespoons parsley fresh chopped
• 2  garlic cloves minced
• 6 cups less-sodium beef broth divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1.5 cups onion chopped ( 1 medium)
• 0.5 cup parsnips finely chopped ( 1 small)
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 
• 2  thyme sprigs 
• 1 cup water boiling
• 2 cups water 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• dutch oven
• colander

Directions

1. Place the porcini mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until tender.
2. Drain mushrooms in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.
3. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
4. Add cremini mushrooms and chopped onion; saut 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon onion mixture into a medium bowl. Recoat pan with cooking spray.
5. Add chopped carrot, celery, parsnip, and minced garlic; saut 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Add carrot mixture to onion mixture in a bowl.
7. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat.
8. Add beef; cook 3 minutes, browning on all sides.
9. Add 1 cup broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
10. 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.
11. Discard thyme sprigs. Stir in barley; cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is al dente. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes.
12. Remove from heat; sprinkle with parsley.