Mega Mushroom & Barley Risotto

Prepare the base: peel and dice the onions and garlic cloves. Place a large pan over a medium heat and a drizzle of olive oil. Once warm, add the diced onion, garlic and a pinch of salt, mix well and leave to cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn soft.

Prepare the mushrooms: roughly slice the mushrooms and add to the pan with the dried rosemary and dried thyme. Cook until the mushrooms become soft (approx 5-10 minutes). Once the mushrooms are cooked, remove a third of them from the pan and spoon into a bowl (these are for the topping). Leave to one side until needed.

Cook the risotto: mix the mushroom stock cubes and the soy sauce with 1L of boiling water and mix well until completely dissolved. Add the pearl barley to the pan and stir for 1 minute. Pour one third of the hot stock into the pan and mix well. Cook for 5-10 minutes before pouring in another third of the stock into the risotto. Cook for another 5-10 minutes before pouring in a dash more of the stock (however much is needed) and cooking for a final few minutes, or until the pearl barley is soft and has absorbed all of the water.

While the risotto cooks, make the garlicky crema: Drain the cashews. Place all of the ingredients into a powerful blender and blend until smooth - you can add a dash more of almond milk as needed to reach a smooth consistency.

Finish the risotto: when the pearl barley is soft and has absorbed all of the stock, mix through the plant-based cream, a squeeze of lemon juice and the nutritional yeast. Cook until the cream and lemon juice is absorbed into the pearl barley. Taste and season accordingly.

Time to serve: Finely slice the chives. Serve the risotto in individual bowls and top with a spoonful of cooked mushrooms, a dollop of the cashew crema, some chopped chives and pepper on top.