Barley Risotto with Kale, Carrots, & Mushrooms

I grew up in the meat-loving Midwest, so my first exposure to vegetarian eating was ironically on the first Thanksgiving after arriving on the West Coast 17 years ago.

Some close friends treated me to possibly one of the strangest Thanksgiving meals ever -- it was a mixture of fake poultry meat, fake dairy, and fake dessert (tofutti ice cream pie) making for a true introduction to the San Francisco Bay Area experience.

The most comical moment was the culmination of the meal when the rest of the table composed of both vegetarians & vegans held their swollen bellies saying it was the most they'd had in weeks.

I bring this up since by way of poetic justice, this past holiday I was assigned the duty of providing the vegetarian dish for several guests at our table.

Such dishes do not need to pretend to be meat-like. They can be hearty, healthy, AND tasty on their own.

Here is what I came up with using kale and barley, a whole grain that can be quite filling and  "good for you".

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Part 1

4 oz dried shitake mushrooms

1. Pour boiling water over mushrooms
2. Let stand covered for 30 minutes to reconstitute
3. De-stem & dice

Part 2

1 TBS olive oil
5 large shallots (diced)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBS dried thyme
3.5 cups kale (de-stemmed)
2 cups vegetable stock

1. Warm up electric pressure cooker
2. Saute the shallots, salt, thyme in oil
3. Add kale
4. Stir, coat, & briefly wilt
5. Add stock
6. Bring cooker up to high pressure & cook for 2 minutes
7. Release pressure
8. Empty contents into foil dish & cool

Part 3
1-2 TBS olive oil
1.5 cups pearl barley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1+ cup diced carrots
5.5 cups vegetable stock
1-2 TBS balsamic vinegar

1. Warm electric pressure cooker
2. Saute/toast barley in oil
3. Add salt, carrots, stock, vinegar, & mushrooms
4. Bring cooker up to high pressure & cook for 19-21 minutes
5. Release pressure
6. Add contents to kale in foil dish

Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes until barley cooked through

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While I used my pressure cooker to individually prepare the different components quickly, you can easily make these together in a common pan in the oven and bake it for a longer period.