BEEF SAUTE' WITH BARLEY AND RICE

• 1 pound boneless beef sirloin, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 5 to 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon crushed dried hot red peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup Barley
• ½ cup Italian Arborio Rice
• 3 cups beef stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1½ tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Cut sirloin into strips 2" long, ½" thick and ½" wide. Set them side.

Heat butter with 1 tablespoon of oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, shallot and dried red peppers; cook 1 minute. Add the garlic; cook 4 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture to a plate.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pot. Sauté the mushrooms until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to the plate with the onions.

Add 2 more tablespoons of the oil to the same pot. Sauté the beef strips, _ at a time, over medium-high heat until browned on all sides. Transfer the beef to a separate plate.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the barley and rice, and stir well. Add the stock, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the reserved onion-mushroom mixture, and heat to boiling. Then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until the barley and rice are tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 35 minutes.