Mushroom Barley Soup

Wow. Just wow. Amazingly rich and savory. Adapted from http://toriavey.com/  A must make again -- and again. The secret really is the dried porcini mushrooms so find a good source.

NOTES

- This is a 2 pan recipe.

½ to 1 cup dried Porcini mushrooms, 

3 qts (12 cups) mushroom stock or a combo of mushroom and no-chicken bouillion)
1 large leek, finely chopped (or onion)
1 cup celery, chopped including leaves
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped 
4 cloves garlic, smashed & chopped or crushed
1 lb white or cremini mushrooms, scrubbed and sliced

1 ¼ cups pearl barley, uncooked 
2 bay leaves

olive oil  
Salt and pepper

1. Place dried Porcini mushrooms  in a glass bowl. Pour 3+ cups hot water over the mushrooms and let soak for 20 minutes. Pour mushrooms and soaking liquid into a strainer to separate liquid & mushrooms - but save the liquid!! Chop the porcini pieces and reserve.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the leek to the skillet and sauté until softened. Add chopped carrots and celery. Saute another couple of minutes. Add chopped porcini mushrooms and garlic and saute another 2-3 minutes. 
3. Pour the strained mushroom soaking liquid into the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan, and bring it all to a boil again. Pour the mixture into stockpot. Add the bay leaves to the stockpot.
4. Put sliced cremini mushrooms in a dry skillet and cook (without oil) over medium heat until the mushrooms lose their moisture and become golden on the edges. Stir occasionally to keep them from burning. Add the dry-sauteed mushrooms to the stockpot. 
5. Add the uncooked barley and stock to the stockpot and bring everything to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the soup cook uncovered until your timer goes off (2 hours 15 minutes total cooking time), or until the barley is completely tender and the soup is nicely thickened. Add water during the simmer if the soup becomes overly thick. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve hot.