Pearl Barley Risotto (Orzotto) With Sauteed Mushrooms - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Sauteed Mushrooms
20 g dried porcini mushrooms
250 g portabella mushrooms, thickly sliced
250 g chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 ounce butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra to serve
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Orzotto
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sized carrot, finely grated
2 stalks celery, finely grated
200 g pearl barley
100 ml dry white wine
725 ml vegetable stock
salt & freshly ground black pepper
To serve
slivers pecorino cheese

Preparation

Place the dried porcini in a bowl and cover with 200ml of warm water, leave to soak for 30 minutes (you can use this time to prepare the other vegetables).
Now start the orzotto: in a large saucepan, gently saute the onion in the olive oil until golden, then add the carrot, celery and pearl barley, turn up the heat and cook on a medium to high heat for 2 minutes.
Add the wine and let it evaporate, then turn down the heat again to a low to medium temperature; add the stock a ladleful at a time, ensuring that the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladleful of stock: this will take about 40 minutes and the pearl barley should be tender but with a bite.
When the orzotto has been cooking for about 25 minutes, drain the porcini (save the liquid for other recipes) and start cooking the sauteed mushrooms: in a large lidded pan melt the butter and olive oil together and gently saute the onion and garlic until soft, stir in seasoning, add the mushrooms, porcini and parsley and cover and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid, turn up the heat and cook for about another 5 minutes, stirring the mushrooms, until most of the juices have evaporated.
To serve: spoon the orzotto into a large round dish, pushing it towards the sides; spoon the mushroom mixture into the space left in the middle of the dish, sprinkle the mushrooms with parsley and pecorino cheese.