Barley With Shitake Mushrooms And Sage

In a medium (3 quart) saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a rolling boil.

Add barley and cook until cooked through and chewy, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety.

When done, drain the barley into a colander in the sink and set aside.

While barley is cooking, heat olive oil and garlic in a 10 or 12 inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium heat.

When bubbles begin to form around the edges of the garlic (after about 1 minute), add sage and mushrooms.

Saute' until mushrooms have begun to brown around the edges and golden brown bits have begun to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and add soy sauce and lemon juice.

Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, stirring them into the mushrooms and sage.

Add barley to skillet and stir until grains are coated and mushrooms are distributed evenly.

Serve warm.

*If you are unable to find fresh shitakes, substitute cremini, oyster, or white button mushrooms.*

**For a gluten-free variation, substitute any gluten-free grain for the barley (brown rice or quinoa would work well), and use tamari instead of soy sauce.**

***If you prefer, you can cook the barley in a rice cooker using a 2:1 ratio of water to grains, and set the cooker on its "brown rice" setting if it has one. Drain any remaining water at the end of cooking.***

****This recipe brought to you courtesy of Coco Morante.****