Mushroom and Barley Ragout

Here's a recipe I took from a book I got for Mother's Day (2010). The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook by Judith Finlayson.

Lentils are so meaty and filling, and you can replace the butter with a vegan option to make this a recipe vegan friendly. 

Mushroom and Barley Ragout
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry whole barley
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 tablespoon butter (or dairy-free butter, or olive oil)
• 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• finely chopped green onions for garnish

Directions

1. For barley: Add 1 cup barley to rapidly boiling water. Cover and reduce heat. Cook until barley is tender, about 50 minutes or longer. Yields 3 cups of cooked barley.
2. In a bowl, combine dried shiitake mushrooms with hot water. Stir well. Let stand for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving mushrooms and liquid separately. Pat mushrooms dry, remove stems and chop finely.
3. Meanwhile, in a deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add cremini mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they begin to release liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
4. Add oil to pan and heat for 30 seconds. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, peppercorns and 5 spice powder and coo, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in shiitake and fresh mushrooms. Add barley and lentils and stir well. Stir in stock and reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to a boil Reduce heat to low.
5. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.
6. Stir in soy sauce. Garnish with green onions.