mussels & pearl barley
This is recipe for the outdoors. I could imagine cooking this over fire, on a beach, watching the sunset and listening to the waves. It’s a real nourishing bowl of goodness, perfect for sharing. The inspiration comes from Gill Meller, the king of outdoor cooking.
The sweetness of the mussels is the perfect way to cut through the rich pearl barley ‘risotto’, with big flavours of smoked bacon, white wine and leek coming through in the background.
You can make the ‘risotto’ in advance, ready to spoon into the dish right at the end of cooking. The pearl barley will absorb the liquid that you cooked the mussels in, giving the whole dish a lovely indulgent finish.
for the pearl barley ‘risotto’
500g pearl barley
1.5 litres vegetable stock
200g smoked bacon or lardons
2 leeks
5-6 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
25g butter
olive oil
salt & pepper
for the mussels
1kg fresh mussels
300ml fish stock
150ml white wine
100g parsley
2 cloves of garlic
100ml double cream
method
Start by making the risotto. You can do this the night before if you need to, it will last in the fridge overnight, for sure.
To do this, finely dice the shallots, chop the garlic, and cut the leeks into half moons.
Sweat the shallots off in a little olive oil before adding the garlic and leek. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until it all softens.
Add the bacon or lardons and continue to cook.
Once this is all ready, add the pearl barley straight into the mix and give it a good stir. Bring the heat to medium.
Add the stock, one ladle at a time, and stir constantly. You want to add the next ladle once the one before has been completely absorbed.
Continue this process until the pearl barley is cooked through.
Add the butter and stir it through. Season to taste.
Put this risotto to the side, or in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to cook the mussels, start by roughly chopping your garlic and discarding any mussels that are already open.
Put the garlic in a pan over a high pan and top with the fish stock and white wine.
Tip in the mussels and cover the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes until all the mussels have opened.
Remove the mussels from the pot and discard any that haven’t opened.
Pick most of the mussels out of their shells, but leave a few as they are for decoration.
Add the cream and parsley to the stock and wine and give it a good stir.
Tip in the risotto and allow it to absorb all the creamy liquid.
Add your mussels back in and season to taste.
Top with olive oil and some fresh parsley, and enjoy with some nice fresh bread.
