Reviewed: Mar. 27, 2009

Excellent recipe!...but I made some changes to make it a "one-pot clean up." I sauteed the onion, garlic and mushrooms in 1 tbsp. of olive oil. When it looked soft enough, I added the barley, miked it around a bit then added the stock. After the barley cooked and absorbed all the water, I added freshly chopped parsley and basil. Delicious!

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Reviewer:

Chef4Six

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Monsey, New York, USA

Living In: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 26, 2009

This was a very good and healthy side dish. I used vegetable stock and baby bella mushrooms. My husband tends to be a "meat and potato" guy, but he was very satisfied with this recipe and enjoyed it a lot. I will keep this in my repertoire. Thanks for the recipe!

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Reviewer:

wilow

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Feb. 24, 2009

This recipe is excellent and very easy to make. It's also a healthier alternative to rice risotto. Like many others, I sauteed the garlic and mushrooms and added them to the barley just before I began to add the broth. I served it with roasted chicken, and it was a perfect complement. I think it can be done with other veggies as well, maybe asparagas instead of mushrooms? Thanks for this great recipe!

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Reviewed: Jan. 28, 2009

Very good! Barley is soooo underrated and it is great for Diabetes and High Cholestrol (like my hubby). I added coins of chicken sausage for a one-pot meal. So hearty, and great for winter! If you want to add creaminess you can also add one can of cream of mushroom soup.

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Reviewer:

tohaveaplan

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Dec. 8, 2008

Good, family chowed this one down. Made with beef stock instead of chicken as we were having venison. I used a soup base (a good brand, mind you) instead of canned stock and the beef flavor did get a bit strong and kind of fake tasting, probably because of the amount of liquid cooking down. That being said, it was still good, hence the 4 stars. Definitely trying with real chicken stock next time. If you try this recipe, use canned or box stock.

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Reviewer:

Kim

Reviewed: Oct. 14, 2008

Great recipe!! I don't usually like barley but I loved this dish. I did cook it longer : for approximatelly 2 hours to get a consistancy that I like .

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Reviewer:

masha

Reviewed: Sep. 29, 2008

This recipe was just what I was looking for to add barley (an excellent source of fiber) to my diet in something other than a soup. The small changes I made based on the other reviews were: -I used salt-free chicken stock and a vegetable bullion cube and it needed only a smidgen of salt at the end of the cooking time to finish it off. I can imagine that regular salt-added canned broth would make it way too salty. -Used fresh thyme, and a bit more than what was originally called for. -Added a generous dash of Cajun seasoning to kick up the flavor even more. -Thanks to Robin B. for the idea of adding some white wine. Just a splash really rounded out the dish and gave it more of a grown-up taste. Overall I think this will be a new regular in my menu planning, and it might even be the main course with some crusty bread and a small green salad. P.S. Regarding the complaint that this isn't a "real" risotto: quite true, but the end result is much creamier in texture than most barley recipes and it's healthier than the same dish made with rice.

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Reviewer:

Susanne_NL

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Aug. 13, 2008

Excellent dish...probably my favorite barley recipe so far. Great taste and very filling. I will be making this one often!!

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Reviewer:

Linnea

Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2008

very salty. Wasn't awful but not my favorite. Maybe low sodium broth would have been better. Oh well. thanks for this

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Reviewer:

tamara

Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2008

I had used shredded carrots instead of the mushrooms as usually mushrooms make a risotto style dish more watery. The carrots, however, made it too dry, so I guess next time I'll use mushrooms. I cut down on the broth because I wanted the barley not too soft. It needs more overall flavor though. I think I'll add more salt and pepper and perhaps a bit of lemon.

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