Monday, July 4, 2011

Dairy Goodness - Nourish your Day

Dairy Goodness - Nourish your Day


Chicken & Mushroom Barley “Risotto” with Pear & Asiago

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 01:39 PM PDT

Chicken & Mushroom Barley

By Anna Olsen

Milk replaces chicken stock as Anna Olson mixes simple ingredients to make magical results in her Mushroom Barley Risotto. The milk makes the risotto taste decadently creamy, and you can control how much cheese you add, to keep the fat to a minimum.

What You Need

1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, divided
1 onion, diced
1 lb (500 g) cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely chopped fresh thyme
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) pearl barley, rinsed and drained
6 cups (1.5 L) 1% or 2% milk
2 cups (500 mL) cubed cooked chicken (white meat only)
2 Bartlett pears, cored and cubed
6 cups (1.5 L) fresh baby spinach leaves
4 oz (125 g) Canadian Asiago cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 cup/250 mL)
Salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large, heavy-bottom pot, melt 2 tbsp (30 mL) of butter over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms, sauté for about 8 minutes or until onion is translucent and any excess liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Stir in garlic and thyme; sauté for 1 minute.

Add barley and stir for 1 minute, to coat with butter. Add 1 cup (250 mL) of milk; cook stirring constantly, until all of the milk is absorbed. Continue, to add milk, 1 cup (250 mL) at a time; stirring after each addition until completely absorbed. Cook at a gentle simmer and reduce the heat to low if needed. (You should leave the pot uncovered, but you can leave it for up to 5 minutes without stirring after each addition of milk.) This takes about 35 minutes.

When adding final cup of milk, stir in chicken and pears to warm through.

Gradually stir in spinach until it has wilted. Stir in remaining butter and Canadian Asiago cheese until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

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