Barley with Mushrooms and Green Beans Recipe
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This recipe is filling enough to eat alone, but it makes for a stellar side when paired with a perfectly cooked roast or some pan-seared meat.
Game plan: The barley can be prepared through step 1 up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 12 ounces green beans, trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick on the bias
- 2 cups mushroom broth
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring a medium saucepan of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the barley, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, increase the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring rarely, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the green beans and broth, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the beans are fork tender and the broth is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved barley and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon butter and season with salt and pepper.
chocchic, thank you for pointing that out. Originally the recipe was tested with hulled barley, but the final recipe does use pearl barley, and you're right that that's not technically considered a whole grain. We've removed this recipe from our Whole-Grain Recipes photo gallery.
Deborah from CHOW
wonder why this would be included in whole grain collection since pearl barley really isn't considered a whole grain.
Chowaholic - seems to me you would be able to cook the barley in broth and then use the leftover cooking liquid/broth in the last step.
This was great! Chewy, nutty, shroomy awesomeness. Really liked the green beans in there too. I only had frozen beans, so I used those. I used some oyster and shiitake mushrooms I got at the Un. Sq. farmers market. They were really good in it (though probably shine more in other dishes). Served it with some sliced grass-fed steak.
I didn't have any parsley, but a grating of pecorino went really well with the flavors. Also, used low sodium chicken broth and a smidge of this mushroom concentrate stuff I have in a jar.
Only thing--I can't bring myself to toss that barley cooking liquid. Should be full of nutrients, as barley is apparently super healthy (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tn...). It's really thick. A soup base, maybe?
I often use bulghur wheat instead of pearl barley.......it makes for a bit of a different taste and the grains are finer and the dish a bit less rustic, but not much. :-)
Yummo, I think I just found the recipe to do in a big batch for my lunches next week :)
I love mushroom barely soup this time of year, but rarely make the two without the soup part! Will definitely try this, or at least add green beans to by soup when it comes time to make it.
http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2...
Thanks a lot. I just found a similar recipe in a UK cooking magazine (I live in England). It also called for mushroom broth so maybe this is a hot new item. :-)
I used organic vegetable broth instead of the mushroom broth, which comes in a handy tetra pak. I diluted it 50:50 with water, since it's salty. I also added a few finely chopped garlic cloves after a few minutes of sauteeing the onions. I used half butter and half olive oil, to keep the butter from burning in the pan. Before serving, I stirred in freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and a bit of Pecorino Romano. The end result essentially barley risotto with mushrooms and green beans. It was very tasty and could have even benefitted from a dash of truffle oil. Yum! Next time.
You could make mushroom broth from dried shiitake mushrooms and other dried mushrooms you have in your cupboard. Reconstitute the mushrooms in water that's several degrees lower than boiling. Add a couple of tablespoons sake, dry sherry or dry wine and boil for a minute or two to burn off the alcohol. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce and you'll have a simple, earthy mushroom broth. You could add a few chopped green onions while steeping the mushrooms, for depth. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth or fine strainer, before using. Chop up the reconstituted mushrooms and add them to the recipe or substitute for an equal amount of fresh mushrooms.
How do I make mushroom broth?
I would serve this as a main dish, and I wouldn't bill it as a side.