Barley Risotto with Cauliflower in Beer Batter

Risotto:

1. Peel the onion and garlic. Cut the onion into small cubes, finely chop the garlic. Heat the broth in a separate saucepan and keep it ready. Clean the spring onions and cut into thin slices. Grate the Parmesan.
2. In a larger saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent. Add pearl barley and steam briefly. Deglaze with the wine and bring to the boil. Always stir well. Immediately after the wine, pour in enough of the hot broth so that the pearl barley is lightly covered. Let everything simmer over medium heat. Stir everything well every now and then. As soon as there is no more liquid to be seen, pour in the broth again as already described. Repeat this as often and as long as necessary until all of the broth is used up. This can take 30 minutes. When the pearl barley (similar to risotto rice) still has a very light bite but no longer has a hard core, fold in the spring onions and let them steep for a moment. They should also stay slightly crisp. Then stir in butter and Parmesan and season everything well with salt and pepper. The barley risotto should – just like the rice risotto – be creamy (thick) and not too thick. Since the pearl barley reacts a little differently than the rice, it is possible that the risotto will set and firm up faster. In this case, stir in a small dash of hot water before serving so that it becomes smoother.

Cauliflower:

1. Separate thick florets from the cabbage and cut them into approx. 1 cm thick slices. Beat the egg in a deep plate and whisk well. Put the finely grated Parmesan in a deep plate and roll the cauliflower slices first in the egg and then in the Parmesan. Store temporarily on a pad and have it ready.

Batter:

1. In a taller but narrow pot, slowly heat the frying oil to approx. 170 °. Heat the oven to 50 ° (keep warm).
2. Separate eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff and keep them ready. Mix the flour, beer and egg yolk well into a thick batter. Add the oil and season with salt and nutmeg. Fold in the egg whites.
3. When the oil has reached its temperature, use a fork to dip the prepared cauliflower slices deep into the batter, coat them well and let them slide into the fat. Depending on the size of the pot, always add several and bake until golden yellow, turning several times. This can take 10-20 minutes. Lift out the finished parts, drain on kitchen paper and place in the oven to keep warm. Check the frying temperature in between and keep baking until all parts are used up.
4. Then arrange everything with the risotto on the plate and sprinkle with the parsley. If you like, you can of course add a little grated Parmesan cheese on top and add a dip as you wish ……

Annotation:

1. The beer batter is versatile. If you want to bake fruit with it, you can leave out the nutmeg powder, add a little sugar and a pinch of salt at most.