Barley risotto with pine nuts and arugula, Fiefhusen style

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 125 g pearl barley
• 25 g pine nuts
• 1 clove(s) garlic, fresh, finely chopped
• 1 spring onion(s), small, cleaned and cut into rings
• 1 m.-large shallot(s), finely diced
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 750 ml vegetable broth or stock
• 50 g butter
• 2 tbsp Parmesan or Grana Padano, grated
• ½ lemon(s), juice and grated peel
• 20 g arugula, fresh, coarsely chopped
• 10 g arugula, fresh, whole, for decoration
• e.g. salt and pepper
• possibly meat, fish or seafood

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Rest time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

sloppy, spicy, delicious

First, heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan to full heat. Toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes, being careful not to burn them. Add the spring onions, shallots, and garlic and let them become translucent. Then add the pearl barley and sauté for another 3 minutes at 3/4 heat, stirring frequently. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and stir thoroughly. Even if the package of pearl barley instructs you to wash the barley, please don’t do this. We need the starch, which would otherwise be washed off, to thicken the sauce. It’s important to ensure that the broth or vegetable stock is very mild, as it is boiled down several times and therefore becomes very salty. Therefore, only use instant broth with a maximum of half the amount indicated, and dilute stock with at least the same amount of water. The broth or stock we use for the risotto must be hot, otherwise the cooking process will be constantly interrupted. So, let it simmer gently in a pot on the stovetop. Now, ladle over the risotto with broth and reduce the heat to 1/2. The amount is always right when the risotto is just barely covered with liquid. We’ll do this uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes at most, and add more broth frequently so that the risotto is always just covered. If the broth or stock gets too low, quickly add more. After half an hour, remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let it simmer for a quarter of an hour. The risotto goes perfectly with fish, meat, seafood, or simply on its own. If the risotto is being served as a side dish, the meat, fish, or seafood should be almost cooked by now and added to the risotto. Now add the butter to the pot, add more broth, and add the lemon juice and zest. Reduce the heat to 1/2. Since not all stoves operate the same and time is sometimes relative, add a little more broth or stock if necessary and add the hard cheese to your liking. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a little broth until it reaches the desired consistency and season with freshly ground pepper and salt. Finally, simply fold in the chopped arugula and garnish the risotto on the plate with the whole arugula leaves. Perhaps add a few cherry tomatoes and bell peppers for decoration.