Comfort Foods: Mushroom Soup Recipe

Matzah ball soup is usually the go-to comfort food for us, but we can’t sleep on a good mushroom soup on a cold winter’s night. Not to mention, mushroom soup or krupnik is very relevant to our roots. Back in the day, the Jews of Eastern Europe had krupnik almost daily because of their connection to the wild mushrooms that grew in abundance nearby. The key to this recipe is the slow cooker. Cooking the soup on low heat for 8 hours really lets all the flavors marinate, giving you a taste that will have you going back for seconds – and maybe even thirds. 

Serves 4. Cook Time: 8 hrs (for best results). 

Mushroom Soup Ingredients:

• 8 oz. portobello mushrooms
• 8 oz. shiitake mushrooms
• ? cup barley 
• 2 onions (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 6 carrots
• 4 celery stalks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 cartons the broth of your choosing (we recommend vegetable broth)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 

Directions for Mushroom Soup:

1. First, prepare your barley by soaking it in cold water for 2-3 hours or overnight. Then, rinse and drain the barley and place it in the slow cooker insert.
2. Grab a large saute or cast iron pan and heat the oil in it. It’s best not to use a non-stick surface pan.
3. Chop onions and saute them in the pan until translucent, 3-5 minutes.
4. Next, add in all the chopped mushrooms, stir and cook over medium heat for another 5-8 minutes. We don’t have this listed in the recipe, but you could also add a spritz of white wine to the mushrooms at this stage for a little extra flavor.
5. Add in the garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
6. Transfer all of the ingredients from the pan into the slow cooker.
7. On the side, thoroughly clean the carrots and celery and chop into small pieces on a cutting board.
8. Add the chopped carrots, celery, bay leaves, dill, tomato paste and broth into the slow cooker. Reserve some of the dill on the side, then season the soup with salt and ground pepper to your liking.
9. Stir to combine well and set the slow cooker to Low and cook for 8 hours, or if you’re working against the clock you can set it to High and cook for 4 hours.
10. Remove bay leaves and ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish each one with chopped dill and enjoy! 

Senior Dining Experience at Lester Senior Living

The senior living residents at Lester have the option to eat in our spacious dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day if they’d like! We think they opt to eat there even more after our 2023 building renovations are completed. Until then, the chefs at Lester understand that some residents may have dietary restrictions, kosher preferences or prefer take-out and will gladly accommodate in any way they can. 

For more information about our senior dining experience in Morris County, NJ, please give us a call today – we’d love to have you over for lunch! You could also visit our website to learn more about what independent living looks like at Lester Senior Living: https://jchcorp.org/

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