Spelt with Mushrooms with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 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.

   StovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns golden.

   Stove

   💡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.

   Stove

   💡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
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
2. 6
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
3. 7
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
4. 8
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
5. 9
   Add the mushrooms and fry about 5 minutes, until browned and the liquid evaporates.

   Stove
6. 10
   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.
7. 11
   Add the wine and cook, stirring, until it evaporates completely.

   Stove
8. 12
   Add the vegetable stock and thyme, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.

   Stove
9. 13
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 40–45 minutes without opening the lid, until the spelt is tender.

   StoveLid
10. 14
    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.
11. 15
    Gently stir in the butter, Parmesan and parsley.
12. 16
    Gently fluff with a fork and serve.