This recipe offers a trendy variation of your classic mushroom barley soup. Still hearty, satisfying and healthful, we replace barley with freekeh. A whole grain, freekeh is similar in origin and application to wheat berries, farro and barley, but that might be where the similarities end. Freekeh comes from durum wheat that is harvested while green or still quite underripe. The underripe stalks are burned in an open fire, yielding slightly charred grains that are sun dried after being separated from the burnt stalks. All of this yields a unique cereal grain with a robust nutty flavor, caramelized notes and a beautiful chewy texture. Some freekeh is also cracked at this point, producing a quicker cooking version.

For heightened umami and dimensions of flavor, we use both fresh and dried shiitake mushrooms in this soup. Each brings distinct earthy notes. Finally, our surprise ingredient is miso paste, stirred in at the end to boost umami flavor even further.

Serves: 6

Separate the stems from the caps of the fresh shiitake mushrooms. You will steep additional flavor out of the stems by soaking in hot water. Discard after steeping as their texture is quite woody. Slice the caps for sautéing and cooking into the soup.

What You Need:

½ ounce (about 6 pieces) dried shiitake mushrooms
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and reserved, and caps sliced
1 cup freekeh, soaked (see note)
2-3 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 shallots, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
20 ounces baby bella or cremini mushrooms, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon miso paste
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, to garnish

What You Do:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Combine the dried shiitake mushrooms and reserved stems from the fresh shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof bowl. Ladle about 1 cup of just boiled water over the mushrooms, submerge them and soak for 20 minutes.
Add about 1 palmful (2-3 tablespoons) of kosher salt to the remaining boiling water. Drain and rinse the freekeh and then add to the boiling water. Simmer for 35-45 minutes (or 15 minutes longer or if you only soaked the freekeh for an hour). Drain.
Meanwhile, heat a soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add a drizzle of olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the shallots with a few pinches of salt and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until softened, about 1 minute. Add thyme and sauté for about 30 seconds.
Add a little more olive oil. Then add the sliced shiitake mushroom caps and the sliced baby bellas. Season with salt and black pepper. Sauté until tender and lightly browned, about 5-8 minutes.
Strain the liquid from the soaking mushrooms and stems into the soup pot. Discard the stems. Add the chicken (or vegetable) broth and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Add the partially cooked and drained freekeh.
Bring to a simmer. Lower heat and continue to cook gently until the broth is thicker and the freekeh is very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cream and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the miso paste with 2 tablespoons of hot liquid from the soup. Whisk until smooth. Stir this mixture back into the soup.
Ladle into bowls and serve with fresh thyme and additional freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Note: Freekeh is measured before soaking. For best results on texture and to minimize cooking time, soak freekeh overnight or all day before cooking it, in cool water in the fridge. But at minimum, 1 hour of soaking time is needed. Use rye berries, spelt berries or wheat berries if you cannot find freekeh and prepare them the same way.