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This is a super simple alternative to a rice base risotto. I always have a stash of no soak barley in the cupboard, along with a lot of other lentils and I just never seem to get to use them. Anyway, I finally got to use them and here we are with a Barley and Butternut Squash Risotto recipe. The kids love this, it’s really cream in texture and with sweet bites because of the Butternut Squash and Mr Mojo had it on the side of a crispy salmon fillet. Yummy!
Ingredients:
400g Pearl Barley
1 liter of Vegetable Stock (I used a Knorr stock pot)
1 chopped Red Onion
Butter or Margarine
Salt
Pepper
Parsley
Grated Cheddar
2 cloves of Garlic chopped
1 chopped Butternut Squash
In a pan, heat your butter, sweat your onions and garlic till they soft and clear. Pop in your Butternut Squash, and cook gently till you can easily slide a fork into the Butternut Squash.
Remove from the heat and set aside in another bowl till later. Leave the coating from the onions garlic and butter in the pan, and add your Barley. Coat the Barley by stirring around the pan a few times, you might want to add a little extra butter at this point until it’s all coated.
I really love how Barley looks before it’s cooked. So simple!
With your pan still on the heat and your Barley now coated in a slick of butter, add enough vegetable stock to just about cover your Barley and cook for around 5 minutes. I found I needed a little under the liter, but it may vary so add as you need too and remember to stir occasionally to lift the Barley from the bottom of the pan. It should take about 30-40 minutes, enough time for a good cup of coffee.
The Barley is naturally creamy so I didn’t add any cream, I did add a good grind of pepper I love the bite of it against the sweet Butternut Squash.
Once your Barley is cooked, it goes slightly translucent and looks almost sticky, add your Butternut Squash, onions, and garlic mix back in and stir well.
I grated some cheddar cheese, topped with Parsley from my garden and another crushed garlic clove.
