Wild mushroom-barley stuffing
4
Points®
Total time: 53 min • Prep: 23 min • Cook: 30 min • Serves: 8 • Difficulty: Easy
This delicious barley stuffing is a wonderful alternative to the more standard bread versions with much less fat—and much more fiber. It's full of smoky bacon, fresh herbs, and wild mushrooms for a hearty, earthy side dish. We suggest using baby bella, oyster, and or shiitake mushrooms. We used low-in-fat Canadian bacon to replace the sausage found in typical stuffings, but feel free to omit the bacon, and swap vegetable broth for the chicken broth to make a vegetarian version. You can prepare this recipe a day in advance. When ready to serve, coat a shallow 2- to 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon in stuffing, cover dish, and bake at 350ºF until heated through for about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Table salt
2 tsp, divided
Uncooked pearl barley
1½ cup(s), pearl variety
Olive oil
2 tsp, divided
Onion
1 medium, chopped
Uncooked Canadian bacon
5 slice(s), diced
Carrots
2 small, diced
Mushrooms
1 pound(s), fresh, assorted wild-varieties, sliced*
Jarred minced garlic
2 tsp
Fresh thyme
2 Tbsp, fresh, chopped
Fresh sage
2 Tbsp, chopped
Black pepper
¼ tsp, freshly ground
Chicken broth
1 cup(s)
Fresh parsley
2 Tbsp, fresh, chopped
Instructions
1
Bring 8 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to a boil in a large saucepan; add barley. Cover saucepan, reduce heat and simmer barley until tender, about 30 minutes; drain.
2
Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large nonstick stockpot over medium-high heat; add onion, bacon and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until onion is lightly browned and almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring often, until all vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes more.
3
Stir in thyme, sage, pepper, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and remaining teaspoon of oil. Reduce heat to low; stir in broth to achieve desired consistency. Add cooked barley; toss to coat. Remove from heat; transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
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