Ingredients:
1 lb porcini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb barley
5 dried chopped shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water 15 minutes to reconstitute
10 cups chicken stock
3 cups onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup parsnips, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
3 teaspoons hot paprika
salt
pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, combine barley and stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat oil and saute onions until just starting to brown and soft, 5 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and saute an additonal 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and brown. Add mixture to the barley and stock. Season with paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Contiue to simmer for about 1 hour.

My thoughts:
My husband has fond memories of mushroom barley soup at the 2nd Ave Deli in NYC. This soup is even better! The paprika give it some spice but it still retains that homey flavor you expect from barley soup.