Spelt with Mushrooms – Pareve version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Soak the spelt grains in water 8 hours and drain.

   Colander

   💡Soaking shortens the cooking, and the grains cook evenly.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 5
   Add the mushrooms and fry about 5 minutes, until browned and the liquid evaporates.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 6
   Add the spelt grains and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in fat.

   💡Fry the rice in fat before adding the liquid: each grain gets coated, and the grains don't stick together.
3. 7
   Add the wine and cook, stirring, until it evaporates completely.

   Stove
4. 8
   Add the vegetable stock and thyme, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

   Stove
5. 9
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 40–45 minutes without opening the lid, until the spelt is tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
6. 10
   Turn off the heat and leave covered 5–10 minutes.

   💡Don't open the lid during cooking: the steam is what cooks the top layer. A towel between the pot and the lid absorbs the drips, so the rice doesn't get soggy.
7. 11
   Gently stir in the canola oil, Parmesan and parsley.
8. 12
   Gently fluff with a fork and serve.