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Home » Vegetarian Recipes » Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Published: Apr 29, 2011 · Updated: Oct 1, 2020 · This post may contain affiliate links.

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Roast-Butternut-Pumpkin-Spinach-Barley-Risotto-recipe
Roast-Butternut-Pumpkin-Spinach-Barley-Risotto-recipe
Roast-Butternut-Pumpkin-Spinach-Barley-Risotto-recipe
Roast-Butternut-Pumpkin-Spinach-Barley-Risotto-recipe
Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto
Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto
Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto
Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto
Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto
Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Risotto is a staple in our house.  In fact, it’s one of my favourite meals to cook, especially in the cooler months.  For me it’s one of those dishes I can whip up without thinking too much, and it’s always delicious and comforting to eat.

Instead of making the usual rice based risottos this winter I wanted to try something a little different.  As much as I love risotto and rice, it’s great to switch things up a little, and I love the challenge of using ingredients in new and unusual ways.  So, I decided to try my hand at a barley risotto.

I’ve seen barley risottos on a number of restaurant menus, usually accompanying meat dishes, but have actually never tried it before.  So for my first attempt at making, and eating, barley risotto, I decided to pair with delicious roasted butternut pumpkin and baby spinach. Given this was my first attempt at making barley risotto I was prepared for it not to work out, but it did and it was delicious, and definitely something I will make again.

If you’ve never had barley risotto before be prepared for a richer stronger flavour compared to your usual rice based risotto.  It almost has a nutty flavour and provides a lovely, slightly chewy texture.  It’s delicious on it’s own, but my meat eating boyfriend said he thought it would be a great dish to pair with roasted duck breast.

Have you ever tried barley risotto before?  What did you think?

Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach & Barley Risotto

Ingredients:

  • 600g of butternut pumpkin (squash), peeled and chopped into bite sized cubes
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, grated
  • 1 cup of barley
  • 4 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup of white wine
  • 150g of baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan
  • 3 teaspoons of butter

Notes:

1. I made this risotto (in fact I make all my risottos) in the rice cooker which makes the process of making risotto much easier as you don’t need to stand at the stove the entire time to stir it.  You do however, need to stir the risotto occasionally, so make sure you check on it every so often and give it a good stir.

2. If you want a softer risotto you may like to add up to an additional 1 cup of vegetable stock.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (355 Fahrenheit).

2. Place the butternut pumpkin in a baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste and roast until softened and slightly golden brown. This will take about an hour.

3. Meanwhile, switch a rice cooker on to cook mode and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, onion and garlic and cook until the onion is softened golden brown.

4. Add the barley and toss in the oil, onion and garlic to coat before adding the white wine.  Cook until the wine is almost completely absorbed before adding the stock.  Stir well and cover the rice cooker with the lid and cook 45 minutes or until the stock is mostly absorbed, stirring ocassionally.

5. Add the roasted butternut pumpkin and cook for a few minutes, stirring to combine.  Check seasoning and adjust to taste.

6. Once the stock is almost absorbed add the butter and parmesan and stir well to combine.  Just before serving add the baby spinach and cook until wilted.

7. Top with additional grated parmesan to serve.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Louise says

    September 24, 2018 at 11:28 pm

    Thank you for this recipe, it is delicious! You really don’t miss the meat (and I’m South African- a country known for eating lots of red meat!)

    Reply
  2. Kulsum at JourneyKitchen says

    March 25, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    I actually love barley risotto. My Mother in law makes a mean Indian version of it!

    Reply
  3. Lisa says

    January 01, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    Just tried this as an apres-ski recipe … yummmmy! Creamy and flavorful, yet easy to make and low-mess with easy clean-up. The spinach adds a nice boost of vitamins. I cheated and bought pre-cut squash (conveniently packaged at 650 grams), which made prep even easier. Because we’re at 10,000′ altitude, everything took longer to cook. Squash took almost 45 mins. to bake before it softened, and the barley took over an hour in the rice cooker. Our rice cooker was too small (6 cups), which was enough to cook the barley, but i had to take half out near the end, before adding the squash and spinach in two separate rounds of final cooking. Hubby was pleasantly surprised at how easy this recipe was (he knows how much i hate to cook), and his only constructive criticism was “needs more pepper”. All in all, a huge success, thanks very much for sharing the recipe! 🙂

    Reply
    • delicieux says

      January 01, 2012 at 2:03 pm

      Hi Lisa,

      I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the risotto 😀 It’s a deliciously simple dish. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback.

      Best wishes for 2012 😀

      Reply
  4. Stephanie says

    May 01, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    I don't make risotto nearly often enough. Yours sounds wonderful, what a fantastic combination of flavors. I will have to try it soon!

    Reply
  5. 6bittersweets says

    May 01, 2011 at 9:50 am

    Oh gosh I just realized I've never had a proper risotto much less barley risotto. Looks so yummy and healthy too!
    My recent post A Lotta Chocolate Part 2- Snickers Macarons

    Reply
  6. Not Quite Nigella says

    April 30, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    I've eaten a barley risotto but never cooked one! I wonder how this would go in my slow cooker? It would be similar to the rice cooker method (and I'm with you stirring risotto is the pits). It sounds delicious! 🙂
    My recent post Win A Donna Hay Cookbook Pack With A Signed Copy of “A Cook’s Guide”!

    Reply
    • delicieux says

      May 01, 2011 at 3:57 pm

      Hi Lorriane 😀 I assume it would work in the slow cooker too. If you try it, let me know how you go 😀

      Reply
  7. Food Obsessed says

    April 30, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    I love love love barley risotto. And butternut squash! What a lovely combination. This looks super yummy. I think I will be serving this one to my family in the very near future!
    My recent post Grilled Cheese Sandwich – Kicked Up A Notch!

    Reply
  8. kankana says

    April 30, 2011 at 10:30 am

    I tried butternut quash for the first time and even though I like the taste I doubt how much I am going to eat those .. IT SO TOUGH TO CUT THEM 🙁 I have tini tiny hands !!! gggrrrr
    This dish is looking so delicious .. and i like the spinach you added .. perfect !

    Reply
  9. Joyti says

    April 30, 2011 at 8:43 am

    I've never had barley risotto. It sounds healthy and delicious – especially with butternut squash.

    Reply
  10. [email protected] Foodie says

    April 30, 2011 at 7:01 am

    Roasted pumpkin and barley risotto is one of my favourite recipes! I like the addition of spinach, it brings this dish more colour and flavour!

    Reply
  11. Dzenana says

    April 30, 2011 at 1:54 am

    Delicious! I've never been brave enough to attempt barely risotto, mostly because I used to hate barley as a child.
    That said, I recently went to Mondo Organics in West End and had theirs and …YUM! And now that you've posted such a lovely looking recipe, well, I suppose I'll have to give it a try!
    My recent post Maple Mousse and Salted Pecan Dulce de Leche in Chocolate Cupcake Patties

    Reply
  12. Wendi says

    April 29, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    Barley risotto is fantastic. And now that you mention it, I have both a butternut squash and barley that need to be use. I see Barley Butternut Risotto in my future!

    Reply
  13. CC11 says

    April 29, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    I have never tried barley in a risotto before, will have to put it on my huge list of things to try!

    Reply

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Nicole - vegetarian food bloggerNicole is a 25+ year vegetarian, and author of a vegan cookbook. She shares her recipes on Delicious Everyday, an award-winning vegetarian and vegan food blog.  About Nicole

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