![Creamy Braised Chanterelles and Potatoes](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/12/26/dining/26rusrex1/merlin_148266327_a404d282-0569-4ae1-a282-a19b4fb8f517-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Barley Risotto With Greens and Seared Scallops
![Barley Risotto With Greens and Seared Scallops](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/09/10/dining/20140910-HALIBUT-slide-X9AU/20140910-HALIBUT-slide-X9AU-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- 1large sweet potato or baking potato, peeled and roughly diced
- 1medium rutabaga, peeled and roughly diced
- 1medium yellow onion, peeled and roughly diced
- 1large carrot, peeled and roughly diced
- 2large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 1shallot, peeled and roughly sliced
- 2teaspoons salt, more to taste
- 2cups heavy cream
- 1tablespoon ground coriander
- 2bay leaves
- Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon, more to taste
- 8ounces (2 sticks) butter
- 2medium yellow onions, peeled and minced
- 1tablespoon salt, more to taste
- 1pound pearled barley, picked over and rinsed
- 2cups vegetable stock
- 3bay leaves
- 1(12-ounce) bunch Swiss chard
- Vegetable oil, like grapeseed or canola
- 67-ounce skinless halibut fillets or 30 plump dry sea scallops
- ¼cup freshly chopped parsley, basil or cilantro, plus extra for garnish
- Sliced pickled hot peppers, like jalapeño, cherry or banana (optional)
For the Vegetable Purée
For the Barley
To Finish
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium-size heavy pot, heat oil over medium-low heat just until shimmering. Add vegetables, including garlic and shallots, sprinkle with salt and cook over low heat, stirring, until slightly softened, 10 to 12 minutes. The vegetables should not brown; adjust the heat as needed. Add cream, then add water until vegetables are just covered with liquid. Add coriander and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 25 minutes or until vegetables are very soft. Turn off heat and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove bay leaves and discard. Purée until smooth in a blender or with an immersion blender. Add lemon juice, taste, and season with salt and more lemon juice. (Can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept refrigerated.)
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a medium-size heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, melt butter over medium heat until bubbling. Add onion, sprinkle with salt and cook over low heat, stirring, until translucent and softened, 10 minutes. The onions should not brown; adjust the heat as needed. Add barley and cook, stirring constantly, until butter is bubbling again and barley is completely coated. Add stock and bay leaves, reduce heat to very low, cover and let cook, undisturbed, 15 minutes. Stir well and check the liquid: if the pot seems to be drying out, add ¼ cup water. Repeat every 10 minutes until barley is very tender but not mushy, 35 to 50 minutes. Remove bay leaves and discard.
- Step 3
Wash chard, then rim off and discard damaged leaves and lower stems. Cut leaves across into wide ribbons. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil until shimmering. Add chard ribbons and cook, stirring, just until softened, 3 minutes. Add hot cooked barley to pot and stir. Add vegetable purée and stir. Heat through over low heat, stirring often. Add water if risotto becomes too thick; the finished texture should be soft, creamy and slightly runny. Taste and season with salt and lemon juice. (Recipe can be made up to this point several hours in advance. Set risotto aside until ready to serve.)
- Step 4
When ready to serve, sprinkle halibut or scallops on both sides with salt. Heat a heavy pan (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat and lightly coat with vegetable oil. Working in batches if necessary, place halibut or scallops in the pan and sear about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn, reduce heat to medium, and cook about 4 minutes longer, turning as needed, until opaque in the center and golden brown on both sides.
- Step 5
To serve, stir parsley into hot risotto and spoon into shallow bowls. Top with halibut or scallops, more parsley, and a few slices pickled peppers (if using).
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
WOW. do not recommend. what a dairy/starch/gut bomb. and too involved. 5 steps, between the puree prep, the barley, the chard, the assembly, and then the scallops. save your time. make a great, straight up loose/proper risotto and drop in some hard heat bay scallops at the end with some fresh herbs and great parm on top. you'll be much happier in half the time. this is NOT worth the effort. only touch that i'd recommend is the chopped hot peppers on the sea scallpops.
I agree that this called for WAY too much cream and butter. I used one cup cream (and part of that was light cream) and then some plain yogurt. For the barley, instead of 2 sticks of butter, I used half a stick.
In an effort to make this MUCH healthier I made the full veggie puree but only with 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of water. Turned out just fine! Then, instead of risotto I made the onions and the swiss chard separately and then made one full cup of barley combined with 2 cups of veggie broth. It was just enough fluid to make the barley chewy which was perfect. At the end I combined the barley with onions and chard in a dutch oven and then poured about 1/2 of the root vegetable puree on top. Solid!
This was a delicious dish! Yes, a few extra steps but well worth the effort. I didn’t use as much cream. I used about 1 1/2 cups and the rest water to cover the vegetables. Simmered low and slow. I only made half the amount of barley. Plenty for 4 to 6 people. I would make this again for a special occasion.
In an effort to make this MUCH healthier I made the full veggie puree but only with 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of water. Turned out just fine! Then, instead of risotto I made the onions and the swiss chard separately and then made one full cup of barley combined with 2 cups of veggie broth. It was just enough fluid to make the barley chewy which was perfect. At the end I combined the barley with onions and chard in a dutch oven and then poured about 1/2 of the root vegetable puree on top. Solid!
Wow, a lb of pearled barley?!! This completely filled my Dutch oven. Would you cook an entire lb of Arborio? I took others advice and cut butter and cream in half, and it is still very rich. It's interesting, but I wouldn't make it again. Besides, I have enough "risotto" to feed my family of nine for two nights.
I agree that this called for WAY too much cream and butter. I used one cup cream (and part of that was light cream) and then some plain yogurt. For the barley, instead of 2 sticks of butter, I used half a stick.
WOW. do not recommend. what a dairy/starch/gut bomb. and too involved. 5 steps, between the puree prep, the barley, the chard, the assembly, and then the scallops. save your time. make a great, straight up loose/proper risotto and drop in some hard heat bay scallops at the end with some fresh herbs and great parm on top. you'll be much happier in half the time. this is NOT worth the effort. only touch that i'd recommend is the chopped hot peppers on the sea scallpops.
Extremely rich with two cups of cream and two sticks of butter and totally unnecessary. Those amounts can easily be reduced. Loved the purée combination or potato, rutabaga, carrot with coriander and bay. It would actually make quite a nice soup on its own with stock added and much less cream. Leave at least some of the vegetables in chunks as is photographed. The pickled peppers are more necessary than optional to balance the richness. Do everything ahead up to the scallops.
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