Barley Risotto with Asparagus & Mushrooms

You know, barley risotto is really tasty. It’s different in texture than risotto made with Arborio or Carnaroli rice, but I really like that firm, slightly chewy bite.

It’s far more interesting than the pretend risotto I made with brown basmati a few weeks ago, and barley has significantly more fibre, protein and iron than brown rice does. It’s also easier to make; it won’t have a hissy fit if you stop stirring for a few minutes to answer the phone or check your email. (Note: versatile barley makes fabulous tabouleh salad, too, if you use it in place of bulgur or mix it with bulgur.) This is one amazing grain.

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 leek, cleaned and sliced fine
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock*
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 enormous shallot (or 2 regular shallots), minced
• 175g (1/3lb) mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 lemon
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 8-10 stalks asparagus
• 1 Tbsp white vermouth (optional)
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• Fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

*good-tasting stock is essential to this dish. Ideally, make it yourself, or get some from somewhere like Meinhardt. I find that most of the tetra-pack stocks and bouillon cubes are overly salty. Or just weird-tasting. So here’s the basic how-to for chicken stock, and here’s one for vegetable stock. But your favourite dog-eared cookbook probably has a great stock recipe too. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just good.

Keep the stock warm over a low burner.

In a large heavy pan, heat the 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion and the leek. Cover and cook 5-6 minutes over low heat, until softened. Add the barley and stir a few times. Cook for a minute or two.

Then add about 1 cup of the hot stock and stir well. Stir every minute or so until the barley has absorbed all of the liquid. This will take a few minutes. When it has been absorbed, add another cup, and stir this until that liquid is also absorbed. And so on.

Meanwhile, put the other Tbsp of olive oil into a skillet. Heat it and add the butter. Toss in the shallot, stir for a minute or two, until fragrant, add the garlic, and then add the mushrooms and the thyme.

Grate the rind from the lemon and add it to the mushrooms. Cut the lemon in half and juice half of it; add that to the mushrooms as well. This is a pretty lemony dish. If you’re absolutely head-over-heels in love with lemon, go ahead and juice the other half and add that too. (I like lemon A LOT but I found the juice of just half was perfect for me.) Season the mushrooms with a little salt and freshly ground pepper.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Break or cut the stalks into 2-3″ pieces and boil another pot of water. Boil the asparagus for about 2 minutes, until bright green and still tender. Drain and refresh in cold water.

When most (or all) of the stock has been used, and the grains of barley have plumped up beautifully, taste one. Add more salt and pepper as desired. If the barley is soft all the way through, but firm and kind of chewy, like al dente pasta, it’s done. Add the vermouth, the asparagus, the scallion, and the chopped parsley.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Oh, and it’s a snap to make this vegan friendly by substituting olive oil for the butter and passing on the Parmesan.