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Barley Risotto with Mushrooms

Posted by SaraBir, September 15, 2006 at 2:58 PM

The flavor of barley works especially well with mushrooms. I like asparagus in this, too, but it's out of season; if you want to get your greens on, throw in a few fist fulls of rinsed, fresh spinach during the last several minutes of cooking. Browning the mushrooms over high heat makes them especially meaty; it also keeps them from getting slimy and overcooked.

Ingredients

10 to 12 ounces white mushrooms 4 to 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock 1-2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 small onion, minced 1 large clove garlic, minced 1 cup pearled barley ½ cup dry white wine 2 to 3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese

Procedure

1. Brush off the mushrooms and separate the caps from the stems, reserving stems. If the mushrooms caps are small, halve them; if they are large, quarter them.

2. In a medium saucepan, add stock and mushroom stems. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and keep at a very gentle simmer.

3. Meanwhile, put a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the mushroom caps. Brown without disturbing for about a minute, then toss and continue to brown mushrooms on all sides. You want the mushrooms to be golden brown; they will shrink a bit in size, but not much, and they will not release much liquid. (It is best to have plenty of room in the pan, so brown the mushrooms in two batches, if needed). Remove mushrooms from pan; set aside.

4. In the same pan, lower heat to medium and melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add minced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the barley and cook 1 minute, stirring to coat with butter. Add the wine to the pan. Stir until almost all of the wine is absorbed.

5. Meanwhile, remove the solids for the stock; discard solids. Keep stock at a simmer. Add about half a cup stock to the barley mixture and stir until almost all stock is absorbed. Continue adding stock one ladle at a time, tasting barley periodically to check doneness.

6. When barley mostly cooked but still has some bite, add the mushrooms to the pan. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook until barley is fully tender. Add a few last splashes of stock if needed (you want the risotto to be loose but not soupy), remove from heat, and stir in mascarpone cheese. Adjust seasoning, divide between plates or bowls, and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serves 4 as a main course.

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