Deviled Barley Pearls

Deviled barley pearls were introduced to us right off the bat in the book Redwall. Now the only food I've ever heard as being "deviled" is deviled eggs. I wasn't certain what exactly makes deviled eggs deviled, so I looked up the definition. Apparently, "to devil" in cooking means "to prepare food with hot or savory seasoning." Well, that pretty much covers anything I could to barley, so I decided to prepare it risotto style. This recipe takes a lot of hands-on time, but it's simple. Most of the time is just taken giving the pot an occasional stir, so don't be intimidated. If you have the time, it's well worth it.

Deviled Barley Pearls

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil (I used olive)
• 1 white onion
• 1 cup pearled barley (I found this in the kosher section, not in the grains section)
• 1 tsp dried thyme (I didn't try it, but I bet sage and rosemary would be nice additions, as well)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms (I used portobello, but use your favorite)

Directions

1. Dice the onion and slice up the mushrooms
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat
3. Add the onion and saute until it starts to turn translucent
   
4. Stir in barley and thyme
   
5. Add about a cup of the broth
   
6. Allow barley to cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed
   
7. Continue steps 5 and 6 until the broth is gone and barley is tender
   
8. Stir in the mushrooms and heat through