Yotam Ottolenghi's Portobello Mushrooms with Pearled Barley and Preserved Lemon

This week's guest editors are England's beloved chefs and cookbook authors Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. All week, they'll be sharing recipes from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, as well as answering our questions and giving away copies of their book to a few lucky readers.

These mushrooms are cooked with lots of butter and herbs and then served warm with the most soothing topping. You can prepare the mushrooms and barley ahead of time, then heat them up and add the lemon, feta, and herbs at the last minute. Try your hand at preserving lemons if you have the patience. Otherwise, seek them out at a shop or online site specializing in North African food.

More: Here's how to preserve your own lemons.

Portobello Mushrooms with Pearled Barley and Preserved Lemon

Serves 6, as a starter

1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup pearled barley (heaping cup)
1/4 preserved lemon, flesh removed and skin finely chopped
1 3/4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsely
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
2 tablespoons purple basil sprouts, radish sprouts or purple basil leaves, shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
15 sprigs thyme
6 large portobello mushrooms
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Reprinted with permission from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

Photography credit: Richard Learoyd © 2013