This recipe might, just might, be my favorite recipe of 2023? It has everything, cozy mushroom broth, barley that has a toothsome bite, crispy brussels sprouts, and a fried sage skyr dressing. It’s comfy, cozy, healthy heaven. And perfect for meal prepping or a weeknight in.
The full recipe is below, along with how to make it if you don’t want/need to make all the components! Just like Ina says, sometimes, store-bought it completely fine 🙂
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Broth Barley
This recipe has it all – roasted Brussels sprouts and crispy mushrooms, barley cooked in an umami-packed mushroom broth, and a fried sage dressing that brings it all together. It's hearty, creamy, healthy, and perfect for meal-prep or a wholesome weeknight dinner.
Equipment
- 1 large pot or dutch oven
- 2 half sheet pans
Ingredients
For the mushroom broth (yields 2 quarts, see notes)
- 6 large dried mushrooms, like oyster, lion's mane, shitake aproximately 2 cups
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 12-15 fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 2 & 1/2 quarts water you may use more or less, as your pot allows
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For the brussels sprouts and barley salad
- 1 & 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts very thinly sliced
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 cups dried barley
For the sage dressing
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh sage leaves aproximatley 18-20 sage leaves
- 3/4 cup skyr or greek yogurt approximately 5 ounces
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 large garlic cloves grated
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
To make the mushroom broth
- Add the dried mushrooms, bay leaves, black peppercorns, caraway seeds, thyme and rosemary to a large pot. Cover with the two quarts of water. You may add more or less as you prefer, just stop when the water reaches within 3 inches of the lip of the pot.
- Bring the water to a boil, add a teaspoon of kosher salt, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer the broth for 25-30 minutes, or until it is a deep, dark brown. The longer it simmers, the more flavor it will build, however it will yield less the longer you go, so simmer for under an hour is my safe-zone.
- When the broth is a dark, rich brown, taste and season with more salt as you prefer.
- Take the pot off the heat and remove the mushrooms, bay leaves, and thyme and rosemary sprigs. If you are proceeding with the rest of the recipe, you can reserve the mushrooms. If not, you can discard them.
- After giving the broth a few minutes to cool down, set a mesh sieve over a container of your choice and strain it into the container. Store the broth in the fridge and use within two weeks.
To make the brussels sprouts and barley salad
- Evenly stagger two racks in the oven and preheat to 425°F.
- Add the brussels sprouts to a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with a few pinches of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Mix to coat.
- If you made homemade mushroom broth, squeeze out any excess moisture from the mushrooms, then roughly chop them into small pieces and scatter them on a separate sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with a few pinches of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Mix to coat.
- Roast the brussels sprouts on the top rack of the oven and the mushrooms on the bottom. Roast the brussels sprouts for 20-25 minutes, or until they are browning on the edges. Roast the mushrooms for a bit longer, about 25-30 minutes, until they are nearly potato-chip crisp.
- While the vegetables are roasting, bring 2 quarts of the mushroom stock to a low boil. Add a teaspoon of salt and the barley. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the barley is cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the barley to a large bowl. Strain the mushroom broth into a container for later use. It will be starchy and delicious.
- When the vegetables are out of the oven, add them in with the barley and mix.
To make the sage dressing
- Set a small pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it heat up. When you can add a sage leaf to the pan and it sizzles, that means it is ready.
- Fry the sage in the oil, swirling occasionally. This will take 2-4 minutes or until the sage leaves are a shade darker and crisp. Transfer the sage leaves into a small bowl. Let the oil cool down for later use.
- In the bowl, crush up the sage leaves. Add the skyr, vinegar and garlic cloves and mix. Add three tablespoons of the sage oil and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more sage oil as you prefer, and thin out the dressing with a few splashes of cool water, though it will still be pretty thick.
To combine the elements
- To serve, add the sage dressing to the large bowl with the barley and vegetables. Mix to get everything all coated, and season with more black pepper as preferred.
- Pile into bowls and enjoy!
Super tasty! Eating it right now. The garlicky sage skyr sauce is definitely a game changer.
This is so tasty! And I love how versatile all of the components are. The sage dressing is delicious – the vinegar and sage work so well together, and of course the skyr makes it so creamy – and would work really well with roasted potatoes or any other grain/veg combo. I made extra mushrooms and brussel sprouts, and they were a perfect topping to my savory oats this morning. Thanks for sharing! Your recipes are such treats!
My apologies – I forgot to rate this one! 5 stars for sure!
Delicious, if a bit labor intensive. Good endeavor for a day at home when there’s time to cook! Subbed farro for barley because I had so much. Would have liked to more carefully strain out the peppercorns from the mushroom when making the broth. Maybe next time, I’d use a sachet for the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns.
This is phenomenal. After making it a few times it’s coming with us tomorrow for a Christmas dinner veg dish. Thank you! 🙂