This rustic dish combines grains, vegetables, and herbs for a nutritious meal. Barley offers a nutty, chewy texture and is versatile beyond soups. I found a recipe to serve with pork roast. Mushrooms are optional, but fresh rosemary is essential. Using butter enhances the flavor, and fresh herbs provide the best taste. The dish is filling and healthy enough to be a standalone lunch. You can customize it by adding vegetables like spinach. Overall, it’s a simple, tasty, and adaptable meal that promotes healthy eating and enjoyment.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of canned reduced sodium vegetable broth
- 2/3 cup of medium pearl barley, rinsed in cold water
- 3 leeks (white and light green part only)
- 1/2 pounds of button mushrooms sliced
- 1 – 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup of freshly grated Swiss, or Apple smoked Gruyere cheese
Process
- Bring vegetable broth to a boil, add rinsed barley cover and cook barley in vegetable broth until tender about 25 minutes. Do not drain.
- Preheat oven to 375° F – spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Clean and slice mushrooms. I wipe mushrooms off with a paper towel. I do not “wash” mushrooms as they will retain the moisture and will not brown.
- Slice off root and dark green leaves of leeks, slice the remaining white part lengthwise. Run under cool water to remove sand between leaves.
- Slice leeks into thin slices.
- Remove rosemary leaves from stems by pulling downward with thumb and finger, chop fine.
- Heat butter in pan until melted, add mushrooms, cook until brown, remove from pan.
- Heat oil in same pan until hot, add leeks and cook on medium-high heat until limp, about 10 minutes, add rosemary and garlic, cook for about 1 minute more, add barley, mushrooms, salt and pepper.
- Stir in half cheese.
- Transfer barley mixture to baking dish
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese
- Bake for 15 minutes or until heated and bubbly
Kitchen Moxy 