When the need strikes for a perfect lunch dish, keep this one in mind: Barley Risotto with Goat Cheese and Grapes. Its beyond good, sweet and tangy, a little acidic, and perfectly nutty with the aroma of toasted barley.
If you guys have been following the blog, you would see a recurring theme in our dish choices, a lot of them are risotto! There is a fascination with the dish and its near infinite variations. There is just something about an unctuous bite of warm, comforting, rice that makes the world better.
So why mess with that?
Because its summer, barley is plentiful, and and experimenting with grains is fun!
Barley and me
We’ve been cultivating barley for around 8000 years, mostly turning it into beer, malt, and animal feed in recent history. The best flavor profile it brings is that nutty aroma, it works in beer, and toasted barley makes your whole kitchen feel like Heaven.
Barley also has a high degree of carbs in its molecular structure, which makes it starchy and perfect for a more rustic take on risotto that doesn’t need much to make it interesting.
Also, because it has a different makeup than short grain rice, it keeps its shape and brings a different texture to the dish, more bite, less creamy. Which means you can add more things with different textures (i.e: carrots, sausage, lentils, etc) to make it more interesting.
Steps and hacks
You can save yourself 80% of cooking time by keeping the barley in water overnight. It slowly absorbs all that water it needs to soften and cook. So when you’re cooking it on the pan, the dish finishes in about 5 minutes instead of 20.
In a cast iron skillet or pan, sautee the onions, garlic, and Chinese sausage together. You’ll make the onions translucent and then add the hydrated barley, water and all. The barley water is cloudy and you want that, that’s all the starch that was released from the barley as it was hydrating. It will make your risotto creamier.
Taste and add more water or vegetable stock as necessary. Once the barley has absorbed the liquid and has the right texture when you taste it, add goat cheese. Just a few knobs, it will melt and act as the tangy cream holding the risotto together.
You want the barley a little tangy and almost sour from the goat cheese, because the grapes at the end are sweet and acidic, they pair beautifully together and balance each other out.
Now go play with 5 minute barley risottos!
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Barley Risotto with Goat Cheese and Grapes
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Prep Time: 5 -
Cook Time: 10
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Total Time: 15
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Yield: 4 -
Category: Lunch -
Method: Risotto -
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Barley Risotto with Goat Cheese and Grapes recipe is beyond good! Every bite is sweet and tangy, a little acidic, and perfectly nutty with the aroma of toasted barley.
Ingredients
2 Cups Barley (hydrated overnight in the fridge)
2 Carrots diced
1 Onion diced
4 Chinese sausages diced (optional)
1 cup cooked Lentils (optional)
2 Cups vegetable stock (as needed)
4 Oz Goat Cheese
1 Cup Green Grapes halved
1 Garlic clove sliced thin (optional)
Instructions
In a cast iron skillet or pan with medium high heat, sauté the onions, garlic, and Chinese sausage together.
When the onions are translucent, add the hydrated barley, water and all. Let the liquid reduce until its syrupy and bubbling.Taste and add more water or vegetable stock as necessary.
Once the barley has absorbed the liquid and has the right texture when you taste it, add goat cheese. Just a few knobs, it will melt and act as the tangy cream holding the risotto together.
Let rest 2 minutes off the heat. Serve and top with fresh sliced grapes.
Notes
You can make this recipe vegetarian by omitting the Chinese Sausage. If you do, add shiitake mushrooms to replace them.
You want the barley a little tangy and almost sour from the goat cheese, because the grapes at the end are sweet and acidic, they pair beautifully together and balance each other out.
Keywords: Barley, Risotto, grains, Grapes, goat cheese
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