Doug’s Inspired Mushroom Barley Soup with Italian Veal Meatballs

(Written a few weeks ago - just now getting it posted)

Sometimes an original dish starts with the concept and I hunt down the ingredients to bring the concept to fruition, and sometimes it’s the other way around. In the case of this enjoyable meal, I started with ingredients and waited for inspiration to strike.

“Hey Doug, what are you doing?”

“Taking out that ground veal I bought a while back for dinner tomorrow night.”

That is how it all started. With a package of ground veal and the knowledge that I needed to create from it. I waited for an inspiration.

Fast forward to late this afternoon: “Jacque, what do you think about mushroom barley soup with Italian veal meatballs for dinner?” This just sounded delicious, and it was.

Soup

3 cups sliced mushrooms

2 thin sliced carrots

½ diced yellow onion

1 32 ounce container of organic vegetable broth

1 splash of red wine

½ tablespoon garlic

1/8 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon oregano

Ground pepper – to taste

Chopped parsley for garnish

1 cup washed pearl barley

When I got home I sliced up about three cups of mushrooms, diced ½ of an onion, and chopped the carrots into thin slices.  I added a stick of butter to a large soup pan and melted over medium heat.  When the butter was melted I added the vegetables and cooked over medium heat adding about a 1/8^-cup olive oil (really did not want more butter).  Once the vegetables were softened, I added in the pearl barley, and 32 ounces of store bought organic vegetable broth.  I keep a lot of different broths in my pantry just in case.  I cooked this over a medium heat after adding a splash of our wine choice for the night – any red or dry white will work in this case - while I went to work on the meatballs.

Meatballs

1 lb. veal (you can use Italian sausage, pork, probably even ground turkey)

1 egg

2/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon ‘generic Italian seasoning’

Little pepper

Little salt

½ cup diced onion

1/8 cup Parmesan grated cheese

Olive oil for cooking

I added all the ingredients into a large metal bowl and hand mixed.  I heated skillet on the oven at medium with a little olive oil, and formed my veal into medium sized meatballs.  I cooked them on the stove turning them as they browned on each side.  When the meatballs were cooked I added them to the soup using a slotted spoon, attempting to leave as much grease behind as possible.  I allowed them to cook and share their flavors with the soup for a few more minutes, and then served the mushroom barley soup with meatballs, garnished with parsley and Parmesan cheese.

Our wine tonight was a delightful surprise.  Jacque and I picked out a bottle of 2007 Zanato Ripassa (http://www.zenato.it/scheda.asp?idprod=77&idpadrerif=66).  Cellartracker.com indicated that the suggested drinking window for this wine is 2010-2015.  It was silky smooth; Jacque described it as a chocolaty texture.  I tasted a lot of cherry in it, and I have to agree that it had kind of a barnyard taste in the beginning.  Note – this is by no means insulting to a wine; it is simply a common way of describing a certain taste.  This was a moderately intense wine with no noticeable tannins or lasting palate.  It was a very enjoyable bottle and a perfect pairing to a great meal!

Luna in Spokane on the South Hill...a MUST!!!

While in Spokane a few weekends ago dropping Greg off to return to college, Jacque and I decided to celebrate our freedom provided by an empty nest by enjoying dinner out with our dear and close friends Roger and Miriam Devaney.  Roger suggested Luna (www.lunaspokane.com) on the south hill in Spokane stating that they had been there recently and really enjoyed it.

Thank you Roger for a great recommendation.  Luna is not your typical Spokane restaurant and if you have not been there, make reservations and head there.  We started the night by sharing a bottle of VaPiano Vineyards Cabernet 2011.   The VaPiano (http://www.vapianovineyards.com) was leathery with tannins and legs that warranted a discussion about what the legs on wine indicate. 

Dinner could not get any better after my starter of their Ahi Tuna Tartar.  I was blessed by having a table that did not want to share in the abundance of raw fresh ahi tuna chopped into chunks sandwiching fresh avocado, on ripe tomatoes swimming is a wasabi sauce with fresh toasted bread on the side.  Ok, so let me tell you whatt I really think…it was awesome!

Jacque had the Lacinato Kale Salad.  Jacque is not a huge kale eater, and I was surprised when she ordered it, but she enjoyed the combination of pistachios and creamy vinaigrette.  Roger had the Caesar salad and seemed to enjoy it.

For dinner Roger had the Spaghetti and meatballs.  This really surprised me, until I was informed that Miriam had this the last time they were at Luna and she thought highly of it.  Roger enjoyed the Italian sausage meatballs and the simplicity of what was gourmet comfort food – I would add spaghetti and meatballs to my list of comfort foods.  

Miriam had a salad and the Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Dungeness Crab – again another Luna hit. 

Jacque had Scallops on a parsnip puree with Brussels spouts.  Her dish came with four very large scallops sitting on the parsnip puree surrounded by shaved Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon.  The scallops were large enough to supply Jacque with lunch next day, but it was the Brussels sprouts that she was raving about.

I had the Double R New York Steak.  Seeing Double R meat on the menu and knowing the quality job Rebholtz family did building this brand of meat raised right in Okanogan County (Loomis) I was sold.  Knowing this was a 12 ounce cut of meat I ordered it with a to go box to put half my steak in immediately – 12 ounces of meat is a lot of meat! 

I had no disappointment about the steak, and it was brought out at a perfect medium rare.  The bone marrow demi-glace was maybe a little lite in flavor, I expected it to be richer, and the Gorgonzola potatoes had me questioning that night if there was suppose to be Gorgonzola cheese in the potatoes because I could not tell if it was there or not.  With that said, my steak was awesome, and I look forward to returning to Luna in the future.  The big wide windows and patios make a second visit a requirement during warmer weather.

For dessert we had one butterscotch crème brule with four spoons.  It was served with strawberries on top and was just the right sweet ending to a great meal that Jacque and I finished with sharing a flight of port.  The flight of port in this case was three 1 ounce pours of three different port wines – I wish more restaurants would offer flights.

Again, Luna is a must and I can see Jacque and I returning more then just to see how much we might enjoy dining on their patio.