Barley "Risotto" with Rosemary Focaccia

My husband loves barley and  always says I don't make it enough.  I'm not sure why that is.  Perhaps it's because the kids don't love it as much as he does or maybe it's the time it takes to make it.  After his request for barley for tonight's dinner, I came up with this after browsing many recipes.  If you have all the veggies chopped and ready to go in advance, the recipe isn't as time-consuming prep-wise.  Whether you use water or stock for this recipe doesn't really matter, as long as you have at least 5 to 6 cups of liquid.  This time I used half water and half chicken broth and also added a chicken bouillon cube for some extra flavour.
This makes a very large batch of barley.  This will easily serve 6 people as a main dish with even some for leftovers.
I paired this with a rosemary focaccia bread that tasted great dipped in this barley (and was the real star for the kids).

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 pkg (227g) sliced cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
1 cup pot barley, rinsed
5-6 cups liquid (water and/or broth)
1 bouillon cube (optional)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Saute the onion for about 5 minutes, until tender but not browned.  Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally until they release their juices, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

2. Add the barley and stir to coat.  Add your liquid (start with 5 cups) and soy sauce and bring to a boil; add the bouillon cube if using.    Reduce the heat to low, simmering gently.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

3. Add the carrots, celery and dill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the spinach and chickpeas, cooking for another 5-10 minutes, until barley and vegetables are tender.  Add more liquid if necessary to ensure the barley doesn't stick.  There should be a small amount of liquid left and the barley should have a bit of a "bite" to it. (If you'd like this "risotto" to have more of a soup-like consistency, add even more liquid [ideally stock for more flavour].) 

4. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper.

Rosemary Focaccia
This is really quick to prepare if you have dough ready to go (homemade or store bought).  The dough recipe below will make two round pizzas or one large rectangular one.  If you are dividing it in half, you can easily refrigerate it overnight or freeze for up to 2 months.  If you are freezing it for later use, wrap the dough in plastic wrap first and then place in a freezer bag.  To thaw, unwrap the dough and place it on a plate for about 3 hours to let it reach room temperature.  Before using the dough make sure it is at room temperature. 

Ingredients:
2-1/4 tsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
3-1/2 cups flour

Focaccia topping
1 tbsp cornmeal
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh rosemary
coarse sea salt
black pepper

Directions:
1. In a bowl put the water, sugar and yeast and let it stand until foamy (about 10 minutes). 
2. Add the salt, olive oil and flour and mix using the dough hook until it comes together.   I find it best to knead the dough with my hands for a bit to form it into a smooth ball. 
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down.  Knead into a smooth cylinder and divide it in half.  Knead each half to form 2 smooth balls, dusting with flour if sticking.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. To make one round rosemary focaccia, you will use one ball.  Lightly grease a round pizza tray and sprinkle with corn meal.  Place the dough on the prepared sheet and stretch the dough from the center outward to the edges of the pan.  (If the dough is too tight, let it rest for another 10 minutes before trying again.)  Cover the flattened dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 450F.   Make dimples in the dough with your fingertips.  Drizzle with olive oil and spread around.  Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. 
7. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Cut the focaccia into pieces and serve warm or at room temperature.

Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

I don't really measure when I make my chicken, so I apologize in advance as I'm only listing the ingredients.  Some of these ingredients will cross over into your potatoes as well.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
Butter
Salt & Pepper
Rosemary
Thyme
1 Lemon, quartered
6 cloves Garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6-7 potatoes, peeled and chopped
Olive Oil
Wine

Directions:

1. Spray your dish with cooking spray or grease it. Preheat your oven to 450F.

2. Generously butter the outside of your entire chicken.  Pour some salt and pepper, as well as your other seasonings into the cavity of your chicken.  Then generously sprinkle those same seasonings over the entire bird.  Pour some olive oil and give your bird a rub down.  If necessary, sprinkle some more seasonings on the top of the bird. Take half of your lemon (2 pieces) and put them in the cavity, followed by 2-3 cloves of garlic.  You can also gently put some cloves of garlic just under the skin of the chicken breast as well.

3. Toss in about 1/3 of your onion and almost 1 of your carrots into the pan. Add another lemon quarter to the pan. Pour some wine (I used white) over the bird and vegetables, as well as some more olive oil.  Cover with foil and put in your oven.

4. Meanwhile spray another dish with cooking spray.  Toss in your potatoes and remaining carrots and onion.  Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic and toss in as well.  Pour some olive oil and then sprinkle with thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper.  I always had in a few other spices, like oregano or basil as well.  Take your last quarter lemon and squeeze the juice over the potatoes. Pour wine over top of the vegetables and give it a quick stir to make sure everything is coated.  Put 4-5 dots of butter over top.  Cover with foil and place in the oven beside your pan of chicken.

5.  Cook in a 450F oven for about 60-75 minutes, it really depends on when the chicken reaches its appropriate internal temperature.  The potatoes will take about an hour, but give them a pierce to check for doneness.  Remove the foil within the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.  Once the food is cooked, place your oven on broil for another 5 minutes to crisp up the potatoes and chicken skin.

Save your chicken carcass for homemade chicken broth.

Tonight's Dinner: braised chicken stew with quinoa

Back in November I was watching The Chew and Michael Symon was making this dish with turkey thighs. I was very interested in making that dish, but had to adapt the recipe to what was in my kitchen. It turned out quite good and I decided to make it again for dinner tonight with a side of quinoa. It was so yummy - and a little spicy! There was enough for me and my husband for dinner and leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

FYI: the original recipe can be found here - http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Braised-Turkey-Thighs-Spicy-Kale-Michael-Symon

Stew of Braised Chicken thighs, potatoes and spinach

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 30 mins
Ready in: 60-75 mins

Ingredients:

4 chicken boneless, skinless thighs, cut into large pieces

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 carrots, peeled and large diced

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 heaping tbsp tomato paste 

olive oil

2  tsp bay leaves (dried)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1.5 cups red wine

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped (or whole)

Salt

Directions:

1. Let the chicken come to room temperature for approx. 30 minutes. Sprinkle all sides with salt. 

2. Preheat the oven to 375F.

3. In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, put the chicken down into the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the chicken is well browned. Flip the pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes to brown other sides. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate.

4. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrots and garlic and cayenne pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until wine is reduced by half. Add the potatoes, bay leaves, chicken stock, and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.

5. Adjust for seasoning, adding salt if needed, and then add the spinach. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Put the chicken thighs on top of the spinach, put the lid back on, and put in the oven for 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. 

Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed under cold water

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup water

1 tbsp butter

Mrs. Dash original seasoning - to your tastes

I tossed this all in my rice cooker and let it go. My rice cooker is slow so it took about an hour. But you can cook it over the stovetop on a medium-low heat until the liquid is evaporated. 

Spoon a nice scoop on your plate and top with the stew and some of the juicy liquids! If you're a wimp like me - keep a tissue nearby in case the spice makes your nose runny!