Coteau Community Market member Carmen Redlin brought this wonderful recipe to our attention. She found it when looking for other things to make with the local, certified organic, hulled barley we sold at the pop-up market in December 2019, besides adding it to soups and stews. 🙂 It works well as a side or main dish.
Ingredients
butter, olive oil, or ghee for sautéing
8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms (or 1 ounce dried mushrooms, rehydrated)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced (There are people who only use one clove of garlic in recipes?!?)
1 cup hulled barley
approximately 4 cups stock (vegetable, mushroom, chicken--use whatever you prefer)
Pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 350°F. If you're using a casserole, grease it so it doesn't stick. (Not necessary if you're using a cast iron Dutch oven or other ovenproof cooking pan that can go from stove top to into the oven.)
If you're using dried mushrooms (shiitake taste absolutely marvelous in this, according to member Annie Mullin), rehydrate them completely in hot water before chopping them up. Retain the water used to rehydrate the mushrooms to use as part of the stock, taking care not to include the grit at the bottom.
Sauté the mushrooms and chopped onion until lightly browned. You can use butter, olive oil, or ghee to cook them in, and Carmen reports just water works if you're doing a plant-based diet.
Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the barley and cook, stirring, until slightly browned. Add whatever broth you're using to the pot and warm it until hot.
Cover and bake in preheated oven for approximately 1 1/2 hours, or until barley is tender. Check the barley occasionally and add more broth or water if needed.
Enjoy!
Adapted from The Spruce Eats' Easy Barley Mushroom Casserole.