Baked Barley with Mushrooms – lawyerroll

I grew up consuming this Baked Barley with Mushrooms and I all the time seemed ahead to it on chilly winter nights. It’s a easy dish made with pearled barley cooked in a flavorful mixture of vegetable broth, butter, and mushrooms for an additional umami kick. Plus, it cooks largely within the oven, leaving your fingers and a focus obtainable to are inclined to different issues. It’s a pleasant various to plain rice for meals like pot roast, brisket, baked pork chops, or any roasted or braised meat. These hearty little grains are good for absorbing each final drop of your pan drippings!

Initially posted 9/3/2013, up to date 12/15/2021.

What Type of Baking Dish to Use

You’ll want some type of baking dish with a tight-fitting lid, like a Dutch oven, as a result of if the steam from the broth just isn’t held inside because it bakes, the barley won’t prepare dinner by way of. I used an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven that was in all probability slightly too large for the size of this recipe, nevertheless it nonetheless turned out nice. The recipe makes about 4 cups, so one thing within the 2-3 quart measurement vary might be excellent. Glass, ceramic, or forged iron will all work so long as it has a tight-fitting lid.

In case your baking dish just isn’t secure to be used on the stovetop, merely use a skillet for the primary couple of steps (sautéing the mushrooms), then switch to the baking dish when including the barley and broth.

What’s Pearled Barley?

It’s crucial that you just use pearled barley for this recipe. Pearled barley is entire barley grains which have had the outer husk eliminated and are then are polished to take away some or the entire outer bran. The ensuing grain is tender and chewy as soon as cooked, and doesn’t take fairly as lengthy to prepare dinner as hulled barley. You may normally discover pearled barley close to the dry rice and beans within the grocery retailer, or close to different specialty grains. 

I used the Bob’s Redmill model, which is barely much less polished than different manufacturers that I’ve used and it resulted in a barely extra agency grain. 

Add Extra Greens

This recipe is fairly versatile and you’ll experiment with including extra hearty greens, like carrot, celery, onion, turnip, or rutabega. I recommend dicing the greens and sautéing them briefly with the mushrooms earlier than including the remaining elements. 

What to Serve with Baked Barley

This baked barley would go superior with one thing like Creamy Mushroom Hen with Crispy Onions, Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Gradual Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew, or pot roast.

Find out how to Make Baked Barley with Mushrooms – Step by Step Images

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Add 4 Tbsp butter, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 8oz. sliced mushrooms to a pot. Sauté over medium warmth till the mushrooms have softened.

That is what the pearled barley seems to be like. As talked about above, that is Bob’s Redmill model, which seems to be much less polished than different generic manufacturers I’ve used prior to now. Pearled barley usually seems to be very white, so this barley nonetheless has a substantial quantity of bran left intact. Due to that, the grains had been slightly extra agency this time round. Both means, it nonetheless tasted nice!

Add one cup pearled barley, ½ tsp dried thyme, slightly freshly cracked black pepper (⅛ tsp), and a pair of cups vegetable broth to the pot. Stir briefly to mix.

Place a lid on the pot and switch it to the oven. Bake the barley within the 350ºF oven for one hour.

After baking it can appear like this–the mushrooms can have risen to the highest, absolutely masking the barley.

Give the barley stir. Style the barley and add salt or pepper if desired.

Prime with chopped parsley simply earlier than serving.