Many of my recipes are based around trying to use up vegetables I have left in the fridge. Risotto is a great way to add a little life back into those veggies! This week I was looking to use up some Shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and zucchini I overly-ambitiously purchased.
I started making risotto at home exclusively with Arborio rice, because that’s the way it was the first time I had it at a restaurant and I absolutely loved it. Arborio rice is great for risotto as it is high in starch and can absorb a lot of liquid (and, therefore, delicious flavor, if you choose your liquids right!). However, without Arborio rice on hand the other day, I found myself searching the pantry for a carb to turn into delicious risotto. I decided to pump up the nutrition right away by swapping out the starchy white rice for the benefits of a whole grain. I had browsed recipes in the past for barley risotto (like this one here, which I used as my base recipe), so I decided to go that route. Barley boasts about four times the amount of fiber and a little more protein than it’s starchy brother. Here is how it came together:
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pint Shiitake mushrooms, chopped or sliced
- 1.5 cups barley, uncooked
- 1/4 cup Pinot Grigio or other white wine
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 2 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 1 zucchini, julienne-cut or finely chopped
- 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
When making risotto, I find it helpful to chop all of the veggies ahead of time so you’re able to focus on stirring without risk of scorching the grain.
I also prefer to get all of my liquids ready before I start cooking. You could certainly go with all chicken stock or all vegetable stock if you have a preference between the two, but I like to split it up half and half. You may see recipes that call for “cooking wine”. Whenever I see that I automatically substitute a wine I would actually want to drink a glass of, because you’re adding it for flavor, so it should taste good. You’ll see below I chose the delicious and budget-friendly “3 Buck Chuck”.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and stir frequently for about 2 minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms start to shrink up and liquid seeps from the mushrooms. Cook another few minutes until that liquid begins to evaporate.
Add barley and cook/stir for a few minutes until you start to smell the toasty, nutty grain.
Before it starts browning too much, begin adding liquid. Start with the wine, stirring to incorporate. If you’re very attentive to your risotto, stirring almost constantly, it’s probably just fine to leave over medium heat. However, I prefer to reduce the heat to medium-low and cook my risotto more slowly, allowing me to stir a little less often.
Add about 1/2 cup of stock/broth at a time, allowing the liquid to almost completely absorb before adding more liquid to the pan. Once you’ve added all 4 cups o Taste-test a bite– if the barley is still too hard, try adding another 1/2 cup or so of liquid until it softens.
Stir in asparagus and zucchini, cooking the veggies for a couple minutes. Cook longer if you like your veggies more well-done. I still like mine to have a little bit of crunch to them.
Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 of Parmesan cheese. Save the rest to top each individual serving with some cheese.
Barley risotto. Boom.
Making Healthy Tasty 