Here’s a meal so delicious that you’d never guess it was healthy, let alone vegetarian as well.

As with any risotto, the dish requires almost constant stirring and adding the liquids in stages, but it’s not at all hard to do, and it’s a relatively short process.

The risotto can easily be converted to a total vegan meal by eliminating the grated cheese and the small amount of butter.   I’d suggest an equal substitution of olive oil (or definitely truffle oil) for the butter.  And toasted almonds would be a great addition here too.

If you are unsure of how to prep leeks, refer to the video in this post.

• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 leeks, sliced and rinsed of sand
• 2 1/2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups vegetable stock (I used Knorr concentrated)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
• salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add barley and stir until lightly toasted; about 5 minutes.

Add prepared leeks (see the video in the link above), garlic and 1 1/2 cups of the sliced mushrooms.  Stir and cook until mushrooms are heated through.  

Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock, stirring until the liquid is absorbed.  Repeat until all the stock is used.  Add remaining mushrooms and cook for 5 min.

Add the butter and grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 3-4 main dish servings.

Beef Barley Soup

Hearty and tasty soup that is a meal in itself when served with crusty Artisan bread or rolls.  Perfect for nippy fall evenings.

I make my stock in a pressure cooker, and I do recommend using one to make this.  However, you can “cheat” and use that jellied concentrated stock as it’s quite good.

For my stock, I just add about 2 cups of water, a bay leaf, a large beef shin bone, a small onion, some celery, some salt, and a couple of peppercorns to my pressure cooker and cook at high for 45 min.  I strain the stock through a cheesecloth, reserve the meat, then chill so the fat congeals and can easily be removed.