Buttery Pearl Barley Mushroom Pilaf

This buttery pearl barley mushroom pilaf is a wonderful holiday side dish made with garlic, thyme, white wine and Pecorino. This recipe is easily doubled or trebled if you are fortunate enough to have family around this year.

Welcome back to Holiday Side Dish Week! My fellow bloggers and I have a whole new list of tasty recipes for you. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see them all. No more excuses for serving the same old side dishes! And in the case of my recipe today, the same old starches. 

I must confess that three starches - potatoes, rice and pasta – feature regularly on our family menu. And we love them all! Of course, all three can be used in a variety of recipes and cooking methods but they are still, at the end of the day, potatoes, rice and pasta. 

Do you ever get tired of the same old starches: potatoes? I do! That’s why I’m always on the lookout for other starches that can be served instead like bulgur wheat, Israeli couscous, chickpeas, lentils or freekeh, just to name a few. 

I had originally bought the pearl barley for the traditional British beef and barley soup but as I looked at the packet, I thought, hmmm, looks somewhat like risotto rice! And I created this dish instead. 

Buttery Pearl Barley and Mushrooms

This dish is rich and creamy, rather like risotto without the faff of standing and stirring forever. The pearl barley has a similar al dente bite that we love. I hope you’ll give it a try. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 110g dried pearl barley

8.8 oz or 250g small mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup or 60ml dry white wine

3 1/2 oz or 100g Pecorino cheese, finely grated

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

To serve: 

fresh thyme leaves

grated Pecorino cheese

good quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cover the pearl barley with about 1 1/2 cups or 355ml cold water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the fire down and simmer until tender, about 45-50 minutes, checking the water level from time to time and adding more, if needed. 

Clean the mushrooms cut off any hard parts of the stems then slice them. Thinly slice the garlic.

In a small saucepan, fry the mushroom slices in the butter until they release all of their liquid and turn a golden brown.

Add in the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Do not let the garlic burn!

When the garlic is softened, add in the white wine and cook the mushrooms for a few more minutes until the wine evaporates. 

When the pearl barley is just tender, strain it out of the cooking water, saving the water.

Add the barley to the mushroom pan. Stir well. Turn the fire down to a quick simmer. 

Add in about 1/2 cup or 120ml of the cooking water, the grated Pecorino and the fresh thyme leaves.

Add a few generous grinds of black pepper and salt to taste and simmer for just a few more minutes.

To serve, top the pilaf with a few more thyme leaves and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil. Put out the Pecorino in case people want to add a bit more on top. In our family, they always do! 

Enjoy! 

Check out all the lovely holiday side dishes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.

• Air Fried Green Beans with Crispy Onions by West Via Midwest
• Apple and Kohlrabi Slaw by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Bacon by Lemon Blossoms
• Buttery Pearl Barley Mushroom Pilaf by Food Lust People Love
• Cheesy Asparagus Bake by The Fresh Cooky
• Couscous with Cumin and Pine Nuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Cranberry Pecan Cornbread Mini Bites by The Freshman Cook
• Creamed Corn by Savory Experiments
• Creamy Cheesy Brussel Sprouts with Bacon by Blogghetti
• Farro Salad with Apples, Arugula & Feta by Sweet Beginnings
• Lemon and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts by Palatable Pastime
• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole by Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes by Family Around the Table
• Persimmon Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette by The Foodie Affair
• Rice Pilaf with Dried Cranberries and Almonds by An Affair from the Heart
• Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad by Kate's Recipe Box
• Roasted Carrots with Goat Cheese and Pecans by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples by Devour Dinner
• Sausage Stuffing by House of Nash Eats
• Wild Rice and Broccoli Casserole by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Wild Rice and Sprouts Pilaf by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
  
  

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Spicy Lime Peanut Chicken

This spicy lime peanut chicken recipe combines zesty lime juice with sweet and salty peanut butter to top boneless chicken breasts for a fabulously delicious main course. 

Spicy lime peanut chicken reminds me of the wonderfully fragrant chicken satay with peanut sauce I love from our many years in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, but with way less trouble. 

Because the boneless skinless chicken breasts are cooked quickly and with such a generous heaping of the sauce, there is little danger of them drying out. My family loved this dish! I suggest serving it with coconut rice and a green bean salad. 

Spicy Lime Peanut Chicken

For the second time this week, I’m sharing a recipe adapted from one by my favorite tv chefs, Jamie Oliver. You can find his original here. My method is a bit different because 1. My non-stick skillet is not ovenproof and 2. I was concerned about cooking the chicken all the way through if I transferred it to a cold pan, raw side down. It was cooked perfectly my way. :) 

Ingredients

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 8 3/4oz or 250g each)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for serving

4 limes, plus extra for serving

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 cloves garlic

4 heaped tablespoons peanut butter

1-2 fresh red chili peppers, plus extra for garnish

Method

Zest the limes and set three-quarters of the zest aside for later. Put one quarter into a small bowl. 

Add in the olive oil, two generous pinches of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Mix well to combine.

Score the thick part of the chicken breasts in a crisscross fashion. The reasons for scoring are two-fold. It helps the chicken cook more quickly and more evenly and also gives more surface area for the flavors to be absorbed. 

Rub the lime zest mixture into the scored side of the chicken breasts. Really get it in all the spaces!

Turn the broiler (BrE: grill) in your oven on to preheat to 350°F or 180°C, if your broiler has that ability. If not, just turn it on to preheat. 

Peel and finely grate the garlic into a bowl. Squeeze the juice from 3 limes into the garlic bowl. 

Stir in the peanut butter and loosen with just enough water to give you a spoon-able consistency.

Finely slice the chili peppers and mix them through the sauce, taste and season with another good pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the breasts flat side down and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the chicken looks cooked halfway up the side. That is to say, the bottoms will be golden but the tops will still be pink.

If your non-stick pan is ovenproof continue as follows in the next paragraph. If it is not, transfer the chicken breasts to an ovenproof pan, scored still side up. I'm including this photo because it illustrates that the breasts are cooked about halfway up already, which wasn't really obvious in the prior photo. 

Spoon the peanut sauce over the breasts.

Put the pan under the broiler/grill, roughly 4 inches or 10cm from the heat, for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is charred in spots and cooked through.

Sprinkle the remaining lime zest over the chicken breasts then drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil to serve. Garnish with chopped chili peppers, if desired. Pop some extra lime slices on the plate. 

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are sharing recipes with peanut butter in celebration of National Peanut Butter Lovers Month aka November. Many thanks to our host Rebekah of Making Miracles. Check out the recipe list below:

• Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken by Making Miracles
• Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Lamb Kofta Curry Bowls by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies by Palatable Pastime
• Peanutty Ginger Pasta by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Lime Peanut Chicken by Food Lust People Love
• Vegan & Gluten Free Peanut Butter Fried Brown Rice by Sneha's Recipe

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board

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Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles

If you are looking for a wonderful, flavorful side dish for the holidays, try my Brussels sprouts and potatoes with sausage crumbles, that is, a lovely mix of aromatics fried with sausage until crispy and golden.

Welcome to Holiday Side Week, brainchild of Heather from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks, where side dishes are the star of your celebration table! Make sure you scroll down past my recipe to check out all the other wonderful side dishes we are sharing. I’ve always thought that side dishes don’t get enough credit so I am delighted to join the group this year. 

This side dish is one I’ve adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe. I’ve loved him since 2002 and he’s still one of my favorite chefs. Jamie’s done a couple of new series just for the pandemic that haven’t made it across the pond yet so I watch them online and it’s such a joy to see his smiling, encouraging face and easy manner in the kitchen. 

Jamie’s at home, just like the rest of us, cooking for family and making wild substitutions, just like the rest of us when we can’t find our normal ingredients in stock. 

About the humble sprout, he says they tend to work best when totally over-cooked or only just cooked and this recipe gives you the best of both with half of the sprouts cooked till golden and almost crispy and the other half lightly steamed and bright green. 

Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles

Jamie uses a typical British sausage called Cumberland in his dish so I chose a fresh pork sausage in natural casing that has a very similar flavor profile. Use whatever fresh tasty sausage you have available or you can even substitute bacon in a pinch. 

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 medium onion

1-2 rosemary sprigs

1 large clove garlic

1 lb or 450g Brussels sprouts

2 large Russet potatoes (approx. weight 1 lb 10 oz or 750g)

1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

2 quality fresh sausages

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Optional: chopped red chili pepper for heat and garnish

Method

Peel and chop the onion finely. Peel and sliver the garlic. Pull the leaves off of the rosemary sprigs and chop them finely.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. In a bowl, cover the potatoes with cool water so they don’t turn brown. Set the bowl aside. 

Cut and discard the hard stem ends off of your Brussels sprouts. Finely slice half of the sprouts and cut the other half in halves.  

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large lidded pan, then add the onion, fennel seeds and rosemary and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is soft.

Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing and add it to the onion pan. Break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until it is just small bits. 

 Keep frying until the sausage is golden and starting to get crisp. Add in the garlic and fry for just a few minutes more until everything is a luscious crunchy brown. The lighting on my stove is terrible. Apologies. 

Remove the  sausage and seasonings from the pan and set aside. 

Drizzle a little more olive oil into the pan. Drain the cubed potatoes and dry them on a clean kitchen towel. We want them to brown and wet taters will just steam. 

Put the potatoes single file in the pan over a medium high heat and don’t stir until they are golden on the bottom. You can give the pan a shake occasionally. Toss the potatoes and leave them to brown on a second side, turning them with tongs, if need be.

Keep tossing and turning until the potato cubes are golden on all sides. 

Scoot the potatoes to the sides and add the sliced sprouts to the middle with another drizzle of olive oil. 

Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes, without stirring. 

Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, raising the heat a little. You want the sprouts to toast and brown. You can stir them into the potatoes at this point. 

Add a splash of the white balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Now add in the halved Brussels sprouts with a small splash of water. 

Pop the lid on and cook for about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the halved sprouts are just tender. 

Add the sausage crumbles back in.

 Add a final drizzle of white balsamic. Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if necessary. 

Sprinkle with some chopped red chili pepper and serve. 

Enjoy!

Check out all the great holiday side dishes my friends are sharing! There is no excuse this holiday season for boring sides. 

• Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles by House of Nash Eats
• Balsamic Glazed Baby Onions by Savory Experiments
• Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe by The Fresh Cooky
• Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Stuffing by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles by Food Lust People Love
• Cauliflower Gratin by Lemon Blossoms
• Cheese Herb Potato Gratin by Shockingly Delicious
• Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole by Blogghetti
• Cranberry Fluff by An Affair from the Heart
• Easy Chorizo Cornbread Dressing by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries & Pecans by Sweet Beginnings
• Holiday Side Salad by Our Good Life
• Honey Roasted Carrots by Devour Dinner
• No Knead Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Roasted Buttercup Squash by Palatable Pastime
• Roasted fingerling potatoes with Parmesan by The Foodie Affair
• Sauteed Spinach with Bacon by Kate's Recipe Box
• Slow Cooker Cheesy Vegetables by Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans by West Via Midwest
• Sweet Potato Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Traditional Cranberry Sauce by Family Around the Table
• Twiced Baked Sweet Potatoes by Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Pin these Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Sausage Crumbles!

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