Vegan Barley Risotto with Shiitake Mushrooms
Hearty shiitake mushrooms mingle with silky, creamy barley in this vegan barley risotto, topped with lemon zest and fresh parsley. The barley is soft and a little chewy, each grain surrounded by savory sauce. It’s one of those dishes where every bite feels a little different, gives you deeper and more interesting flavors. Like all good risotto, this dish is a little hands on, but it’s a great way to elevate barley and make it even more enjoyable.
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Recipes Inspired by Beautiful Produce
I’ve been going through a little bit of a dry period, in terms of recipe inspiration. Usually I have more ideas floating around in my head than I could ever get done, but I’ll also go through periods where basically no ideas inspire me at all. One of the best strategies I have for getting myself out of these periods of recipe-developers block is to go to a store, find the best looking bit of produce that calls my name, buy it and make something. No excuses. And when I’m staring at a beautiful looking fruit, vegetable, or fungi, it’s hard not to make something delicious. This recipe came about after a desperation trip to the store, where I was met with some of the largest, heartiest looking shiitake mushrooms I had ever seen (not the same as the ones in my pictures here, this is the second round of development for this recipe). Those robust fungi called my name, and from there this vegan barley risotto was born.
All About Barley!
Carb-haters, back off! Barley is a great grain that’s been cultivated by humans for over 10,000 years and has been made into beer and bread. But in the United States, it’s underutilized for what it is- a delicious and healthy whole grain. Barley typically comes in two forms- pearled, which is more common and what we used here, and hulled. Hulled barley is chewier than pearled, and requires a soaking period and longer cooking times to help to get through the bran which has been removed in pearled barley. Barley has soft, pillowy grains with a chewy center. They contain good amounts of fiber, potassium, iron, and folate, among other vitamins and minerals and has been shown to be beneficial for bone health, cancer fighting, reducing inflammation, and weight management. Barley is one the non-wheat containing foods that actually contain gluten, so if you’re avoiding gluten this is not the grain for you.
Looking For Great Grains? Try one of these recipes!
- Vegan Millet Porridge with Persimmon and Chia
- Greek Goddess Vegan Quinoa Salad
- Teff Vegan Burger with White Beans and Mushrooms
- Vegan Brown Rice Congee (Savory Rice Porridge) with Jackfruit and Mushrooms
- Carrot Tops Tabbouleh with Kamut
- Southwest Tomatillo Vegan Risotto Recipe
- Wild Rice, Chili and Cacao Nib Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Lentil, Chestnut Mushrooms and Amaranth Winter Soup
Making Vegan Barley Risotto
Making this vegan barley risotto all starts with the shiitake mushrooms- get them cleaned, sliced, and start them out in some hot oil. Once the mushrooms have lost most of their moisture, they’ll start to develop a beautiful golden color. At that point, add the onions and garlic until they’re just cooked, and then remove it all from the pot. Use the same pot to make your risotto though, as it has all those delicious mushroom flavors in it. To make the risotto, simply add a ladle full of hot broth to the barley and stir until its absorbed. And repeat, until your risotto is cooked. Adding the broth slowly allows the starches to dissolve from the grains, and creates the silky, creamy sauce around the barley. At the end, add the mushrooms back and top with lemon zest and parsley- add a little vegan parm or nutritional yeast if you like, although it’s totally not needed.
Vegan Barley Risotto with Shiitake Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ½ lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 cup dried pearled barley
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 tbsp. vegan butter
- 1 tsp. dried tarragon
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
Instructions
- Heat vegetable broth in a small saucepan until warm. In the meantime, heat a generous amount of oil in a large pot and once hot add the shiitake mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Sauté until they have lost some moisture and begun to turn golden. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until the onions become translucent. Scrape the cooked mushrooms and onions into a large bowl and set aside.
- In the same pot, add the barley and cook for a minute or two until fragrant, stirring so it doesn’t burn. Add the wine, and stir, cooking until it is all absorbed. Next add a ladle full of the warm vegetable broth, stirring until it too is absorbed. Continue adding a ladle at a time and letting it be absorbed, stirring the whole time, until the barley is cooked (45 minutes to an hour).
- Once the barley is cooked, add the vegan butter and tarragon, stirring to incorporate. Return the cooked mushrooms and onions to the pot, along with salt and pepper to taste, chopped parsley, and the lemon zest (save the juice for another recipe). Stir to incorporate, and serve warm. Top with nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan, if desired.
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