Cooking Instructions
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). On a baking pan, place
Walnuts (1/2 cup)
in oven for 6-8 minutes, or until toasted.
2.
While walnuts are toasting, remove the root from
Leeks (4)
with a chef's knife, and cut the remaining portion in half. Slice leeks into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a small bowl, and submerge in water. Agitate leeks to remove dirt.
3.
Drain liquid off, and reserve leeks. Once walnuts are toasted, remove form oven and set aside.
4.
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add
Unsalted Butter (1 Tbsp)
and cook until the aroma is nutty, and the butter looks slightly amber in color. Remove from heat, and place cooked butter in a small kitchen bowl.
5.
Using the same saute pan, add leeks,
Unsalted Butter (1 Tbsp)
,
Water (1 cup)
,
Kosher Salt (to taste)
, and
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
. Place over medium-high heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until all the liquid evaporates. Leeks should be tender once the water evaporates.
6.
While the leeks are cooking, prepare the
Pearl Barley (1 cup)
. Heat a small-medium saucepot over medium heat. Add
Unsalted Butter (1 Tbsp)
, then add pearl barley. Cook for 1 minute, stirring to ensure the grains toast evenly.
7.
Add
Water (2 1/2 cups)
,
Kosher Salt (to taste)
, and
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
, and turn heat to high. Bring water to a boil, and lower heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat.
8.
Add mixed
Wild Mushrooms (3 cups)
and
Fresh Thyme (2 sprigs)
to the pan with the leeks, and continue to cook over medium-high heat 4-5 more minutes while stirring. Whisk
Sherry Vinegar (1 Tbsp)
,
Lemon (1)
juice, and lemon zest in the bowl of melted butter.
9.
Once the mixed mushrooms and leeks have cooked, over medium-high heat, add cooked barley and lemon-butter mixture to pan. Cook 2-3 minutes, while stirring, to thoroughly incorporate. Remove pan from heat, discard fresh thyme.
10.
Season with
Kosher Salt (to taste)
and
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
. Divide barley onto two plates, and top with walnuts and
Parmesan Cheese (2/3 cup)
. Enjoy!
