Barley Rrisotto – How it Works

Pearl barley is peeled and ground barley grains. In this article, we will show you how you can use them to make delicious risotto.

Pearl barley risotto: the basic recipe

Barley risotto is a tasty and healthy twist on the classic, made from rice. You need 250 grams of pearl barley, 50 grams of strong mountain cheese, 750 milliliters of vegetable stock, 2 onions, salt, and pepper.

• First, wash the pearl barley thoroughly under running water.
• Then boil them in salted water for about 10 minutes. Dice the onions.
• Drain the pearl barley. Sauté the onions in a little oil and add about a third of the vegetable stock and the pearl barley. Keep pouring the broth over them.
• Finally, add the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Barley risotto with red cabbage

You can add a variety of ingredients to this basic recipe, depending on your taste. Here we have a variant with roasted red cabbage.

• In addition to the basic recipe, you need 250 grams of red cabbage, dried porcini mushrooms, garlic powder, 3 tablespoons of polenta, a clove of garlic, 50 milliliters of white wine, sprouts, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• First, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Then cut the red cabbage into wedges about 3 centimeters thick.
• Mix the olive oil with the garlic powder and salt and rub the red cabbage with it. Finally, sprinkle with polenta.
• Spread the red cabbage on a baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the risotto. Add the roughly chopped garlic and the porcini mushrooms to the onions.
• Deglaze the risotto with white wine.
• Arrange the barley risotto on a deep plate and place the red cabbage wedges on top. Sprinkle the dish with the sprouts of your choice.

A Mediterranean variant

In addition to the basic recipe, you need 30 milliliters of olive oil, 100 milliliters of white wine, thyme, 40 grams of pine nuts, 400 grams of courgettes, 5 dried tomatoes, and 60 grams of almond butter.

• Thinly slice the courgettes and dice the sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté the courgettes together with the onions in olive oil.
• Add the pearl barley and deglaze with the white wine. Then prepare the risotto.
• Gently toast the pine nuts in a pan. Mix in the almond butter and thyme.
• To serve, pour this mixture over the risotto in small portions, together with the sun-dried tomatoes.