Mushroom and Barley Risotto
If I was forced to choose to only eat one vegetable for the rest of my life I think it would be mushrooms.
Mushrooms are a bit like that, people seem to either love or hate them, though how you could hate them is beyond me! Two members of my immediate family literally refuse to eat them. On the other end of the spectrum, my dad eats them raw, which even I, self-proclaimed mushroom lover, would not do.
I love this recipe. It’s rich, creamy and yummy but also feels hearty, wholesome and filling. I started making this risotto with barley instead of rice as I find barley to be more filling and provides me with more sustained energy. Plus it is a bit less finicky that rice so it’s easy to make in large quantities or without giving it as much attention as regular risotto. As I have said, I love mushrooms so there is a high mushroom to barley ratio in the recipe. The barley is pretty much just an excuse to eat a bowl of mushrooms. If you don’t feel the same way as me about mushroom, add less of them! Just don’t tell me…..
Mushroom and Barley Risotto
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4 - 6
Dietary guide: Gluten free, vegan and dairy free alternative provided - see the bottom of the page.
Ingredients
For the mushrooms
700g of mixed mushroom cut into quarters or eighths if they are large
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper
For the risotto
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter (for the onions)
I large brown onion peeled and diced
1 medium leek, white part only, dirt removed and diced
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
4 sprigs of thyme chopped
2 x bay leaf
1 cup of barley
400ml of dry white wine
About 1 ½ litres of your choice of stock
2 handfuls of chopped and washed baby spinach
50g of cold butter diced for finishing the risotto
50g of Parmesan finely grated
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of chopped dill
1-2 teaspoon of chopped tarragon
1 tablespoons of truffle oil
Method
For the mushrooms: Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. As I often double or triple this recipe, I cook the mushrooms in the oven as its easier than coking so many mushrooms in the fry pan. If you prefer to pan fry them go ahead it will be yummy, but for this recipe I bake them purely for ease. Place all the mushroom ingredients in a large baking tray and place in the oven for 5 minutes to get the butter melting.
Take out the tray and give it a toss to roughly distribute the oil and butter. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and give them a good stir – try and get them evenly coated in the mix of butter/oil/mushroom juices. Leave tin foil off and cook for another 15-30 minutes, taking the tray out and stirring once or twice. You may need to cook them for more or less time, but they are ready when they have gone darker in colour and there should be no liquid left. Set aside for later.
Now start the risotto. Warm and simmer the stock on the stove in a saucepan for later use. Place the oil, thyme, bay leaf and butter in a large heavy based shallow saucepan and heat for a few minutes on medium. Add the onions and leeks and cook for another five minutes stirring often. Add the garlic, turn down the heat to low and cook for another five minutes. If it starts to stick to the bottom or brown, add a bit more oil and take it off the flame for a few minutes.
Be careful not to brown the onions and garlic as this will make it bitter. Once the onion and leeks are cooked and translucent, add the barley and turn the heat up a little bit to low - medium. Cook a further couple of minutes stirring often and then add the white wine. Cook this out until is has absorbed. Basically for this recipe just keep stirring often! Add half a cup or warm stock and stir regular until the barley has mostly absorbed it.
Continue this process until the barley is nearly cooked and add the mushrooms and and residual juice. Mix and continue to cook for a few more minutes or until the barley is ready – it should be tender but still has a little firmness to it. You may need more or less stock. The end dish will thicken up a bit, so at the point of turning off the flame you want the barley cooked and there to bit a little residual liquid but not too much. It should take around 40 minutes. Once you are at this point and have turned of the heat, add the spinach and stir. Then dot the cold butter over the top of the risotto, grind in some fresh pepper and sprinkle over the Parmesan. Place the lid on and leave for five minutes.
This recipe is pretty heavy on the butter and parmesan (as that’s how I like it!) so feel free to add less……or more! Take the lid off, add the herbs and truffle oil and stir well. Taste the risotto and adjust for your tastes. You may want more herbs or cheese etc. It’s unlikely you will want to add salt, as the butter, cheese and stock all contain salt. In fact if you don’t like your food salty, replace half the stock with water or use low sodium stock. Once your happy, it’s ready to enjoy.
Note: This recipe is great for freezing; much better than rice does. I think you can hardly tell once its defrosted.
Vegan dietary alteration: Follow the instructions as per the regular version except; replace the butter for the mushrooms with an extra tablespoon of oil. Add 1 teaspoon each of shiro miso and savoury yeast flakes when you add the mushrooms. Omit the parmesan and butter at the end of the cooking process and add a little lemon zest just before serving. A little extra truffle oil is nice if you feel the risotto needs more flavour.
Gluten free alteration: Simply replace the barley with risotto rice (make it 1 ½ cups instead of 1) or brown rice. You may need to add more stock and it will take a little less time to cook than the barley version. I also have a recipe for pumpkin risotto that is gluten free if your prefer to use this recipe, click here.
