This Roasted Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach, & Barley Risotto is vegetarian comfort food at it's best. You won't believe how easy it is to make!
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Risotto is a staple in our house. In fact, it's one of my favorite 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.
Rice vs Barley
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.
If you've never had barley risotto before be prepared for a richer stronger flavor compared to your usual rice based risotto. It almost has a nutty flavor 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.
Instead of pairing this risotto with duck, try serving it with a nice side salad, some meatless "meat"-stuffed rolls, or a refreshing watermelon drink!
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My First Attempt at 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.
Have you ever tried barley risotto before? What did you think?
How to Make Roast Butternut Pumpkin, Spinach, & Barley Risotto
- Preheat the oven.
- Place the butternut pumpkin in a baking dish. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast pumpkin until softened and slightly golden brown. This will take about an hour.
- Meanwhile, switch a rice cooker on to Cook mode and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until the onion is softened and golden brown.
- Add the barley and stir with 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. Cook barley for 45 minutes or until the stock is mostly absorbed, stirring occasionally.
- Add the roasted butternut pumpkin and cook for a few minutes, stirring to combine. Check seasoning and adjust to taste.
- 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.
- Top with additional grated parmesan to serve.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 600 g butternut pumpkin squash, peeled and chopped into bite sized cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 cup barley
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup white wine
- 150 g baby spinach
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 3 teaspoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F.
- Place the butternut pumpkin in a baking dish. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast pumpkin until softened and slightly golden brown. This will take about an hour.
- Meanwhile, switch a rice cooker on to Cook mode and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until the onion is softened and golden brown.
- Add the barley and stir with 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. Cook barley for 45 minutes or until the stock is mostly absorbed, stirring occasionally.
- Add the roasted butternut pumpkin and cook for a few minutes, stirring to combine. Check seasoning and adjust to taste.
- 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.
- Top with additional grated parmesan to serve.
Louise says
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!)
Kulsum at JourneyKitchen says
I actually love barley risotto. My Mother in law makes a mean Indian version of it!
Lisa says
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! 🙂
delicieux says
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 😀
Stephanie says
I don't make risotto nearly often enough. Yours sounds wonderful, what a fantastic combination of flavors. I will have to try it soon!
6bittersweets says
Oh gosh I just realized I've never had a proper risotto much less barley risotto. Looks so yummy and healthy too!
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Not Quite Nigella says
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! 🙂
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delicieux says
Hi Lorriane 😀 I assume it would work in the slow cooker too. If you try it, let me know how you go 😀
Food Obsessed says
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!
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kankana says
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 !
Joyti says
I've never had barley risotto. It sounds healthy and delicious - especially with butternut squash.
Maria@Scandi Foodie says
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!
Dzenana says
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!
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Wendi says
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!
CC11 says
I have never tried barley in a risotto before, will have to put it on my huge list of things to try!