You may also like
Categories:Viewed: 95 - Published at: 8 years ago
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pearled Barley
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic, Crushed
- 4 cups Water
- 10 whole Dried Morel Mushrooms (or Any Other Variety You Like)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1/2 cups White Wine
- 2 cups Cooked Butternut Squash
- 1 bunch Asparagus Spears, Cut Into 2" Pieces
- 1 whole Bay Leaf
- Shredded Parmesan (or Other) Cheese For Garnish
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
Method
- Heat a large saute pan on low, film with 1 tablespoon olive oil, add onions and slowly saute, stirring often, until lightly and uniformly browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add the crushed garlic and stir for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant.
- Dont let the garlic burn.
- Add the water, and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the caramelization into the liquid.
- Add the dried mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and thyme.
- Keep over very low heat.
- Add 3/4 cup of barley to a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven type of pan.
- Heat on medium to medium high and stir often until barley is slightly toasted, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of barley and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and stir to coat.
- Add the white wine (if using) and stir until liquid is mostly absorbed.
- Begin adding heated broth mixture to the barley, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring often.
- Keep adding more as liquid is absorbed and gets thicker.
- Dont worry about the mushrooms and onions, just add them along with the broth.
- Stir and add liquid, stir and add liquid.
- When you have only about 1 cup of broth left, add the butternut squash to the mixture in heaping spoonfuls, continuing to stir.
- Add the rest of the broth, taste and adjust seasoning.
- The whole process will take about 30 minutes.
- The barley will be chewy.
- You can cook it longer if you like it softer.
- If you find that you need more liquid to cook the barley or you want your risotto more liquid, add plain hot water 1/4 cup at a time until it is the consistency you prefer.
- During the cooking time, steam or boil the asparagus and shock in cold water.
- You want the asparagus to retain a slight crunch and be bright green.
- Stir the asparagus into the finished risotto until warmed through.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, topped with grated cheese and crusty bread on the side.