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Garlicky Roasted Mushrooms and Brie

For Christmas Eve, we enjoyed this awesome roasted mushroom and cheese dish on slices of fresh baguette! It’s pretty quick to prepare, ready in around a half hour including baking time. It was so tasty, and felt quite indulgent! We also thought it would be great with just the mushrooms, so next time that’s probably what we will try.

The recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen website, a huge favourite of mine. Her printed cookbooks are great too! I made one change to the recipe: her version called for capers, but my Main Eater doesn’t enjoy capers so I substituted olives to provide that salty flavour. She suggests anchovies as a substitute, but those are also not a favourite here. I used a bit more garlic than the recipe called for, and served it with freshly sliced baguette instead of toasted baguette, just to keep it simple. I opted for Camembert, but gooey Brie would also be awesome!

This was way more than the two of us could eat, so it is safe to say this would be a good amount for an appetizer for four people.

Photo of a serving dish containing roasted mushrooms with a round of cheese in the centre, placed on a cutting board surrounded by slices of baguette.

What you need:

  • 1 lb mushrooms (I used Cremini and King Oyster)
  • 2 tablespoons minced olives (or capers)
  • 3-4 cloves minced garlic (not run through a garlic press)
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or less to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
  • juice of half a lemon (or less)
  • a few sprigs of parsley (garnish)
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme if you have it
  • 8 oz wheel of Brie or Camembert
  • baguette, sliced or toasted

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. Break the mushrooms up into bite-sized pieces using your hands. I just cut the ends off the stalks first, then tore the mushrooms up.
  3. Mix together the mushrooms, olives, garlic, salt, oil and quite a bit of pepper in a baking dish, large enough that it will have enough room to add the cheese later.
  4. Cut the butter up into small chunks and sprinkle tit over the mushroom mixture.
  5. Roast for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.
  6. While the mushrooms are in the oven, use a knife to score a circle in the top of the cheese, then remove the top of the cheese. This will allow for easier serving. (You CAN eat the rind).
  7. Push the mushrooms aside to make a space for the cheese. Place the cheese in the middle of the baking dish, place the fresh thyme on top of the cheese, then put it all back in the oven for about 10 minutes. The cheese should be melted, so if it’s not, you can give it a few more minutes in the oven.
  8. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the mushrooms and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately!

Gochujang Chicken Strips – Air Fryer Version

photo of breaded chicken strips on a plate with red chili sauce in a bowl

These chicken strips are really easy to whip up in an Air Fryer. With a bit of spice and a crunchy exterior, they’re pretty addictive!

The majority of the recipes I post are recipes that someone else has created; most of the time I make some changes to the recipe, and sometimes I follow the recipe to the T. This one I made up myself, and I have to tell you it’s a good one!!

It’s been far too long since I last posted a recipe on here, but I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my Master’s program. I haven’t been taking any photos of my food makes for a long time, so when I made up this recipe last night I again didn’t take a photos. I did remember what I put in the recipe, and it was so good that I had to make it again tonight, and this time I took a few photos.

What’s so great about this recipe, you ask? Well . . . these chicken strips are really tender thanks to the air fryer cooking method, and the chili coating brings a ton of flavour to them. Plus there’s no added oil, other than a little bit that you spray on the cooking surface.

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste that has a little heat, a little sweetness, and is slightly fermented. You can find Gochujang paste at any Korean grocery store; I get mine at Kim’s on Broadway in Vancouver.

I was a holdout on the Air Fryer purchase, but the more I read peoples’ opinions on it and heard from friends what they liked about it, I figured I should look into it. I do not like to have a ton of machines, and the Air Fryer machine is quite large, so I bought the Air Fryer lid for the Instant Pot that I already own. Since then I’ve done a lot of roasted veggies, Agadashi Tofu, and a few different chicken strip recipes. All have been excellent, and all have taken so little time that I am motivated to try more recipes. I made this recipe, start to finish, in less time than it would take me to preheat my oven.

I served these with Air Fryer roasted cauliflower last night, and tonight I made breaded zucchini in the Air Fryer. Air Fryer fries are also awesome! I dipped the chicken in a sweet chili sauce, but feel free to use your sauce of choice or no sauce at all.

What you need:

  • 1 chicken breast
  • 2 tablespoons Gochujang paste
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Mirin
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup Panko crumbs

What you do:

  1. Combine the Gochujang, soy, mirin, and garlic in a bowl.
  2. Put the Panko crumbs in another bowl.
  3. Cut the chicken breast into strips.
  4. Place the chicken in the Gochujang mixture and coat all sides.
  5. Using a fork, place a piece of chicken in the Panko crumbs and coat all sides.
  6. Spray the Air Fryer with oil spray, then place the chicken on the Air Fryer rack in a single layer, with a little space between each piece.
  7. All Air Fryers will work differently, so get to know the cooking times on your machine. For my Instant Pot Air Fryer lid, I cooked the chicken at 400F with no preheating. First I cooked it for 4 minutes, then flipped the chicken and cooked it two minutes more. If you are testing your machine out, you could try cooking for a shorter amount of time so you don’t overcook, then add a minute at a time. Make notes about your cooking times.
  8. Enjoy them while they are hot!
photo of Trader Joe's soy sauce, Mitkusan mirin, Korean Gochujang paste, and a clove of garlic
photo of two bowls, one with chicken coated in a red paste, the other with chicken coated in panko breadcrumbs
photo of chicken strips in an instant pot air fryer

The Best Cornmeal Muffins!

cornmeal muffin on a plate

I found this recipe for “Perfect Corn Muffins” on Smitten Kitchen, and she’s right, these are the best cornmeal muffins I’ve ever tasted. I’m using the word “cornmeal” because I feel like “corn muffins” sounds like there are actual kernels of corn in it, which there are not in this recipe.

The changes I made were just because I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand, so I used buttermilk instead of whole milk, and yogurt in place of sour cream. The recipe called for 3-5 tablespoons of sugar, and I went with just shy of three because I don’t enjoy sweet cornbread.

These were delicious with a little bit of Irish Kerry Gold butter, and another was eaten with a slice of mature cheddar. I had planned to serve them with Instant Pot baked beans, but they are taking forever instead of an instant to cook, so they’ll have to go with the leftovers.

The recipe is straightforward except one part that was new to me: some of the cornmeal was cooked before mixing, which is probably part of the reason that these were so moist. You will separate the two cups of cornmeal into 1 & 1/2 cups with the dry ingredients, and 1/2 cup to be cooked.

What you need:

  • 2 cups yellow cornmeal (I used Purity brand)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 & 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 & 1/4 cups buttermilk (or whole milk)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt, not no-fat (or use sour cream)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and left to cool
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons (35 to 60 grams) sugar (see Note up top about sweetness)
  • 2 large eggs

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners; I used silicone, and they slid off really nicely after baking.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl combine 1 & 1/2 cups of the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. Melt your butter and let it cool a bit.
  4. Add the milk and 1/2 cup cornmeal to a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir until it has thickened enough that your spoon/whisk leaves a clear line across the bottom of the saucepan, which slowly fills in.
  5. Mix the melted butter, sugar and yogurt into the cooked cornmeal. If the mixture is cool enough, mix in the eggs. If not, wait a few minutes so the eggs don’t cook when you add them.
  6. Fold the dry ingredients into the eggy-buttery mixture until just combined. The batter will be quite thick.
  7. Scoop the batter into the muffin tins; using an ice-cream scoop or measuring cup can help to keep the amounts even. The batter will completely fill the muffin cups and mound up a bit.
  8. Bake for about 13 minutes, until the tops are just golden brown. Insert a toothpick to see if they are done. There should be no batter sticking to the toothpick. My oven is really annoying, so some were done at this point, and some not. I rotated the pans and left them in for three more minutes.
  9. Let the muffins cool in the pans for five minutes, then remove from the tins and let them cool five minutes more. Because mine were in silicone liners, I removed them at this point.
  10. Enjoy!

Oven-Baked Falafel

These oven-baked falafel are super tasty, and my official taster is looking forward to eating them again! Deep-fried falafel are delicious, I don’t enjoy cooking with boiling oil, and I think baking is healthier.

This photo was taken before the tahini sauce, hot sauce and pickled turnips went on – oops! Somebody was eager for the photos to be done so the eating could begin. I’ve also served these with some hummus and a cucumber, tomato and herb salad.

I found an aleb falafel, a falafel shaping device, for under $10 at a local Middle Eastern store. You can use a spoon or your hands to form them if you don’t have an aleb falafel.

falafel shaping device

This recipe is especially easy to make if you have a food processor, but you could also give it a try with a potato masher. It’s quite simple: all the ingredients go into the food processor bowl, you whiz it up, form the balls, and bake them. While they are baking you can prepare sauce and veggies.

These falafel freeze quite nicely!

What you need for the falafel:

  • 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or equivalent home-cooked
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/ 2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley
  • 1 cup cilantro (I like to use the stems too)
  • 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika or Aleppo pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • olive oil for brushing on top of falafel before baking

What you need for the tarator sauce:

  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup water
  • salt to taste

What you do for the falafel:

  1. Heat the oven to 375F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Add the chickpeas, eggs, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, cilantro and garlic to the bowl of the food processor and process until the mixture becomes doughy.
  3. Add the baking powder, seasonings and olive oil and process again until all the ingredients are combined.
  4. Form falafels with an aleb falafel (I lightly oiled mine before use), or scoop with a tablespoon and form into flattened balls with your hands.
  5. Use a pastry brush to brush a little bit of olive oil on the tops of the falafel, to help them brown nicely. Browning = flavour!
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes, then check to see if it is done; mine needed more time. You will know when it is done if a knife inserted in the centre comes out pretty much clean.
  7. While the falafel are baking you can make the sauce.

What you do for the taratour sauce:

  1. Mix the garlic in with the tahini.
  2. Add a little bit of lemon juice and mix well. Add lemon juice and water a little at at time until the sauce is creamy but not too runny.
  3. Add salt to taste.
  4. Enjoy!!

Sour Cherry – Chocolate Bread

sour cherry and chocolate bread sliced on a cutting board

My mom says, “This is the best bread I have ever had.” And my mom has had a lot of good bread, much of it made by her, so I consider that the strongest endorsement for this delicious chocolate sour cherry bread.

This isn’t a sweet bread, just a loaf of my usual no-knead (Jim Lahey recipe) bread, with the addition of sour cherries I picked in summer and froze, and some good quality dark chocolate. If you’re unfamiliar with no-knead bread, it’s a bread that is left to rise overnight. It is baked in a dutch oven, which helps to create a crunchy crust. So delicious! Just takes a bit of planning ahead – there’s very little hands-on time, but you need to move the dough a few hours before baking.

It was the most delicious the day it was baked, and while still a little warm. But it was also very nice the next day, toasted, with a little butter.

Feel free to add a bit more chocolate or cherries if you want!

What you need:

  • 2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup rye flour (or use all ap flour)
  • 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 & 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 & 1/3 cups water, room temperature
  • 6 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli 60%, Bittersweet)
  • 1 cup pitted sour cherries (if using frozen cherries, do not thaw before adding)

What you do:

  1. In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water and stir just until it comes together. It will look a bit shaggy, but it’s fine.
  2. Cover the bowl with a lid, plate or plastic wrap and leave to sit at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. Eighteen-ish hours is preferable, especially if it’s a little cooler in your place. This time around I left mine even longer, and it was probably my best ever. After about 4 hours you can work in the chocolate and cherries. I experimented with adding then in the beginning, but somehow it doesn’t rise as well.
  3. About two hours before baking time, spread out a large piece of parchment paper and put a coating of olive oil over it. Use a spatula to coax the dough out of the bowl, and then use floured hands to gently form it into a loaf, and place it seam-side down onto the parchment paper. Invert the bowl over the dough and allow this to sit for about 2 hours.
  4. About 1/2 an hour before baking, turn the oven to 450°F/ 232°C. (If using a Romertopf/clay baker, make sure you have pre-soaked it, and then place it in the oven BEFORE turning the oven on.) If using a cast iron dutch oven, place it in the cold oven to heat along with the oven.
  5. When the oven is ready, gently place the dough, seam side down, into the lidded baker. This should be pretty easy to do, since you can just pick up the corners of the parchment paper and transfer the whole thing into the pot. If you want to, you can use a sharp knife to make a few slashes a few centimetres deep into the top of the bread.
  6. Place the lid on the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. After that time, remove the lid and bake for 15-25 minutes. The crust should be dark, and the bread should sound hollow when you tap it.
  7. Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack for about an hour. When it is hot it will be too sticky inside to cut, but after an hour the bread will still be warm enough for the perfect tasting experience.
  8. Enjoy!

Christmas Baking Highlights

This post is all about some of my favourite holiday baking treats over the 10+ years of TrustInKim, so bakers have it all in one place. There are more recipes to come this year too!

Gingerbread People with red candy hearts.

Sparkling Ginger Chocolate Chip cookies.

Spicy Chocolate Shortbread

Pecan Shortbread

Rum Balls! Another of my mom’s amazing recipes.

My mom’s fudge recipe, super easy, loved by all.

Chocolate dipped espresso shortbread

Buttery shortbread

Sour Cream Cutout Cookies, perfect for decorating.

Jam-filled Cookies, which we called “ammonia cookies.”

This Chocolate Rum cake is not for the faint of heart.

Triple Ginger Cookies

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

Stollen with brandy-soaked dried fruit, almonds and marzipan.

Fleur de sel Caramels

Coconut Mango Cookies

Tiger Butter

Lemon Sables

Rich Chocolate Cookie Cake

And a few Savouries:

Pistachio Cheese Shortbread

Bubbat Mennonite raisin and Farmer Sausage bread

Bacon Shortbread

Lemony Hummus

You can make your own hummus! It’s so easy, delicious, and saves you money! Whether you use canned chickpeas or cook them from dried, it’s easy to make a great hummus. When I make hummus at home, I appreciate knowing exactly what goes into it, and adding more or less of whichever flavours I choose – and for me it’s all about the lemon right now!

This recipe is a variation of the hummus recipe I make often, but in this one I’ve added lemon zest along with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Plus a bit of cumin and hot sauce to perfect it.

You can use canned chickpeas, or prepare your own from dried chickpeas. I highly recommend removing the skins from the chickpeas to make a really creamy hummus. If you use split dried chickpeas, they are already skinless, so you will not need to remove the skins, but the flavour is a little different than the regular chickpea. Of course, you can always keep the skins on, but your hummus will not be as smooth. If you’ve got the time it’s worth a try, and removing the skins can be somewhat meditative.

One of my favourite meals that includes hummus is hummus kawarma, a Lebanese dish with lamb. Of course hummus also great with fresh pita, or as a veggie dip. I also love to toast day-old pita brushed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt to make crackers, and then dip them in hummus.

What you need:

  • 1 & ¼ cups dried chickpeas (or one 540mL can)
  • 1/3 cup tahini 
  • 4  or more tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • cumin, to taste (start with 1/4 teaspoon)
  • hot sauce (optional) to taste
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
  •  Salt to taste
  • 5 or more tablespoons ice-cold water 

What you do:

  1. Cook the chickpeas ahead of time, so they are cold when you use them to make the hummus. If you are using canned chickpeas I highly recommend removing the skins. This is a bit of work, but here’s what I do: I drain them, then put them in a large bowl with water. Then I rub some of them between my hands, and a lot of the skins come off that way. Then I go through them and pull off most of the remaining skins.
  2. Place your drained chickpeas in a food processor or blender. Process them until you have a thick paste. Add the tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, a little hot sauce, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; blend this. With the machine still running, drizzle in some of the ice water and let it mix for several minutes. You will get a very creamy paste. Taste to see if you want to add any more lemon juice or any of the seasonings. Add more water if you think it needs it to be smoother; I like to add a bit more water than I think I will need, as hummus tends to thicken up a bit when refrigerated.
  3. Cover and refrigerate if you are not using it right away, but remove from the fridge at least half an hour before you want to eat it. A little drizzle of good quality olive oil is a nice way to top it off when serving.

Enjoy!

Potato and Black Bean Tacos

I have to say, I was against the idea of a potato taco in the beginning – kind of like I was against the idea of a potato pizza – but in both instances I was proven wrong. The creamy potato and black bean filling in these tacos, paired with this fire-roasted salsa, makes them a pretty awesome treat!

It’s pretty simple really, just cook some potatoes (I used a purple one because I had fresh ones from the garden), open a can of black beans (or make your own from dried beans). Smash them together with some spices, add a little cheese, throw it into a frying pan in a tortilla, and you’re done.

Here’s a breakdown of what you need to feed two people, and the process:

  • 1 medium sized potato
  • cumin
  • chili powder (I used Ancho)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • about 2 tablespoons milk or non-dairy alternative
  • 1/2 can black beans (or less)
  • canola oil or butter for cooking
  • soft tortillas
  • cheddar or cheese of choice
  • yogurt or sour cream (optional side sauce)
  • your favourite salsa (this one!!!)

What you do:

  1. Boil the potato until soft, then drain and sprinkle in a little cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the milk or substitute and give it a few squishes with a potato masher.
  2. Add the beans to the potatoes and give it all a few more squishes, until it is pretty much combined. Taste and add more seasonings if it needs it.
  3. Grate the cheese.
  4. Now you can heat a large frying pan and add a drizzle of oil or a bit of butter, just enough to coat the pan so the tortilla doesn’t stick.
  5. Place a tortilla in the pan, lifting half of it up so you can fit another tortilla in the other half, both of them open.
  6. Spoon some potato/bean mixture into each tortilla half and spread it out so it reaches the sides.
  7. Add some cheese, then fold the top down.
  8. Cook on the first side until it has lightly browned, then turn it over and do the same thing on the other side.
  9. Serve with your favourite salsa, and a side of yogurt or sour cream.
  10. Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Plate with three blueberry muffins

Imagine you walk into a kitchen and you catch a waft of lemon, butter and blueberries emanating from the oven – heaven, right? That’s what these are.

It’s pretty rare that I post almost the same recipe within a few months, but these are so good that I had to make them again, with a very slight change – even more lemon!

They are really light and fluffy, packed with blueberries, a nice hit of lemon, and a crunchy cap.

The last time I made these, I made a few minor changes to this recipe. I used the zest of a whole lemon instead of half, and I added the baking powder and baking soda a bit later in the process to avoid over-mixing it. For the Turbinado sugar topping I used a bit less than the suggested 3 tablespoons, and it still had a nice crunchy top. This time around I used some lemon juice in the batter to amp up that flavour, and to balance the sweetness of the muffin. I also rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar to release more of the oils, bringing out the flavour.

I also made a mistake with these! I used half a cup of butter instead of 5 tablespoons – oops. But the flavour was awesome!

If you are using frozen blueberries you should leave them in the freezer until you are ready to add them.

The trick to successful muffins is not over-mixing the batter, which will cause you to have a dense muffin. Another trick – bake them as soon as the batter is in the muffin tins so they don’t lose any of their leavening.

Makes 9-11 muffins. They are the very best the day they come out of the oven, but warmed up with a bit of butter in the next few days they were quite good too.

What you need:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • zest from a whole lemon (finely grated, only the yellow outer peel)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup plain yogurt minus 2 tablespoons
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 & 1/4 to 1 & 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen 
  • 2 tablespoons Turbinado (sugar in the raw) sugar

What you do:

  1. Prepare your muffin tins by lining 9 of them with paper liners, and then spray the liners with baking spray. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Place the sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl, and work the zest into the sugar with your fingers to release the oils.
  3. Melt the butter, then whisk it into the sugar and zest. Whisk in the yogurt and egg until smooth.
  4. Add one cup of the flour to the sugar mixture and stir it in until there are still some clumps. Now combine the remaining half cup of flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Very lightly fold this mixture into the batter, until it it is mostly mixed, with a few lumps.
  5. Fold in the berries until they are just combined. You should now have a very thick batter, especially if you just added frozen berries.
  6. Divide the batter between the 9 muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with a bit of Turbinado sugar. 
  7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Test them by inserting a toothpick in the middle; if there is any batter sticking to the toothpick let them bake a few minutes longer. If you hit a blueberry, you might want to poke the toothpick into another spot to see if they are done.
  8. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
  9. Enjoy!

Mushroom and Barley Soup

Perfect for a Fall day, this soup is warming and hearty, but not heavy. Served with a beautiful baguette from Beyond Bread, this made a delicious dinner for two with plenty of leftovers.

You can make this as a vegan soup, or use chicken or beef broth. The soup consists of some veggies, both dried and fresh mushrooms, a splash of sherry, tomato paste, and broth. A good quality broth is important here, so homemade or a better quality like Pacific would make a tasty soup.

The recipe comes from the Yvette van Boven’s ‘Home Made Winter’ cookbook. Her recipe calls for spelt, but gives the option of barley, which I used because that was what I had in my cupboard. I added a few extra carrots, less oil, and a dab of butter at the end. I used chicken broth because I had it on hand, but look forward to trying it with mushroom broth. I changed the order of when to add the salt and pepper, adding it at the end so it doesn’t get over-salted, and so the salt doesn’t make the veggies mushy. As well, adding pepper too soon can make it the soup taste bitter. My scale is broken right now, so I guessed that 25 grams of dried mushrooms is about 1/2 cup, and that tasted great. For the fresh mushrooms I used a combination of Button and Cremini, the white and brown ones you find easily in the grocery store. If you substitute for more interesting mushrooms, please let me know in the comments below what you used and how you enjoyed it!

What you need:

  • 25 grams dried mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 500 grams (about 1 lb) fresh mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
  • 100 grams (about 1/2 cup) barley or spelt
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • a splash or two of dry sherry
  • 1 litre (4 cups) mushroom, vegetable or chicken stock
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon butter (optional)

What you do:

  1. Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour hot or boiling water over them, just enough to cover. Let that sit for about 20 minutes while you get started with chopping.
  2. Once the onions, carrots and celery have been chopped, heat the olive oil on medium heat, in a large pot. Sauté the vegetables until the onions begin to soften.
  3. Stir in the garlic, then add the fresh mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms until they begin to release their juices, about 10 minutes.
  4. Raise the heat and stir in the barley or spelt, allowing it to absorb the mushroom juices.
  5. Add the mushroom soaking water and the tomato paste, cooking until you smell a sweet aroma, and then add the splash of sherry.
  6. Add the broth and the soaked mushrooms (I chopped mine first), then bring it to a simmer. Leave it simmering on low heat until the barley/spelt is cooked to an al dente texture. I checked mine after 30 minutes and it was almost done.
  7. Season with salt and pepper, and add a dab of butter if you wish.
  8. Serve with some gorgeous bread and enjoy!