Mushroom Grain Salad with Pancetta
Cook Time
about 1 hour
Yield
serves 4-6
RECIPE Ingredients
- 1 cup barley
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons black truffle butter
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 2-inch piece leek, white and light green part only, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed & finely chopped
- 1 package organic chef’s mix mushrooms, trimmed and rough chopped, King Trumpet mushrooms sliced and lightly scored
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 4 ounces ventrèche or or pancetta, cut into ¼-inch dice
- 1/8 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
Recipe notes
Our hearty grain salad recipe has barley, sautéed mushrooms, leeks, shallots, and crisp pancetta for a salty kick. Enjoy as a side or a main with over-easy or soft-cooked eggs on top. Serve warm or cold. The salad can be made 3 hours ahead and kept at room temperature covered with cling film.
RECIPE Preparation
- Cook the barley in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, 50 - 60 minutes for hulled or hull-less, 20 - 30 minutes for pearl. Drain; spread out on a sheet pan and set aside to cool slightly.
- Melt truffle butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add shallot, sauté until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add leek and garlic; sauté about 3 minutes more. Add mushrooms, turning to coat; season mixture with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until mushrooms are soft and start to brown, about 10 minutes; add thyme, sauté about 1 minute more. Spread mushroom mixture evenly over the barley, set aside.
- In a small skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the ventrèche until rendered, golden brown, and crisped.
- Spread the parsley and ventrèche evenly over the surface of the mushroom barley mixture. Add the juice and zest of the lemon and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of the rendered ventrèche fat evenly over the top; season with salt and pepper. Toss mixture together before serving on a platter.
