Pearl Barley with Mushrooms Recipe

I'm always on the look-out for new side dishes utilizing different grains. I tried making a quinoa dish and discovered I don't like quinoa. So the next step was to try making a pearl barley dish. I love pearl barley in soups, so figured that using chicken broth to cook the barley, and adding mushrooms to it, would be a good way to make it. This recipe is very simple, flavorful, and hearty, and my family loves it, but can only eat it every once in a while since Sam is slightly sensitive to barley.

Pearl Barley with Mushrooms Recipe

1 cup pearl barley
3 cups chicken broth

1 package of whole mushrooms (8 oz.)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Put 1 cup of pearl barley in a 2 cup measuring cup, fill the measuring cup with water and stir the barley around with a spoon to wash them before cooking them. Remove any debris or anything that floats to the top. Drain out the water and put the barley in a Medium cooking pot. Add 3 cups of chicken broth and start the pot to boil over High heat. When it boils, cover the pot and turn the heat down to Low. Let it simmer for 45 minutes, covered.

During the last 20 minutes of the barley cooking, wash, dry and slice the mushrooms.

Heat a large skillet, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, to High heat. Add the sliced mushrooms, drizzle a little olive oil over them, salt and pepper to taste, and cook them until the mushrooms are browned.

When the barley is done, add the cooked mushrooms to the pot, along with a sprinkling of pepper and stir until well combined. Serves 4 people as a side dish.