The ultimate in cosy comfort eating. This warming bowl was made for grey days. It packs so much deep flavour from the porcini spiked mushroom stock and red wine base.
Ingredients
Makes 4 portions
150g pearl barley, washed
1 large white onion, diced
1 tbsp dried porcini
250g portobello mushrooms, peel off the skin and keep it
1 tbsp chopped parsley (keep the stalks)
A few sprigs thyme picked (keep the stalks)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
125ml red wine
1tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Marmite/ yeast extract
Oil
Salt & pepper
Creme fraiche, steamed carrots & greens to serve
Recipe
- Place the barley in a large pan of cold water. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Cook until tender, then drain
- Make the mushroom stock – in a large pan place the mushroom trimmings, dried porcini, herb stalks and any odds and ends you might have to use of onion, carrot, leek or celery. Cover with 1l cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 mins or so, then strain into a measuring jug
- Slice the mushrooms and colour them all over in a wide pan with a little oil on a high heat. Remove from the pan, turn down the heat, add a little oil and the onion. Sweat until softened, then stir in the garlic and thyme and cook out for a further 5 mins. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook for a further 2-3 mins. Stir in the wine and cook until the pan is nearly dry. Slowly stir in the stock, little by little until it is fully incorporated.
- Stir in the mushrooms, barley and season to taste
- Serve with steamed carrots, greens, a good dollop of creme fraiche and scattering of parsley
Looking for substitutions?
If you don’t have time to make the stock you can absolutely use shop-bought stock. If you have time, warm it up with the dried porcini to add in that extra depth of flavour.
If you don’t want to use red wine or open a new bottle you can omit it, but add in a good splash of red wine vinegar instead to balance the rich savouriness of the stew.
Pearl barley could be swapped out for any grain that you like, or even potatoes.
The extra veggies used to make the stock are completely optional. Use what you have to hand as well as the mushroom peel and herb stalks from this recipe.
If Marmite or yeast extract is not available you can leave it out, but add extra dried porcini to the mushroom stock to really beef it up.
I have served it here with simply cooked carrots and cavolo nero which work very well to balance out the rich stew, but any seasonal veggie could work – steamed broccoli or green beans would be great.
If you’d like to keep the recipe vegan just leave out the creme fraiche, or replace it with a plant based variety.
If you’d like to bulk up the protein content of the dish green lentils would work very well.
RECENT RECIPES
Pumpkin & sage pasta
The most magnificent creamy bowl of creamy pumpkin pasta with crispy sage leaves. Guaranteed to see you through some chilly evenings.
Seasonal spotlight: fennel
Fennel is undoubtedly one of my favourite ingredients. It is such a chameleon, changing flavour so much between raw and cooked. I love it in all its guises. Gently caramelised, diced and used in the base of recipes, finely sliced and tossed raw into salads. Here are some of my favourite ways to eat it.…
Fennel, freekeh and lemon
A really nourishing plate of food. There’s so much depth of flavour in the grains. Anisey fennel and a marmeladey bitterness from the whole diced lemon.
Leave a Reply