Chicken And Pearl Barley Risotto

Pearl barley brings back memories of our mum's soup - a big pot being cooked up on a cold winter's night.  Definitely cheap, cheerful, and delicious.  I bought some biodynamic stuff in winter, and just to finish it off, I decided to make this barley risotto.  I'd chanced upon an episode of Nigella Lawson's where she made her version, and then I came upon this one by Tori Haschka from her book A Suitcase And A Spatula - so here we are.

To be honest, this was not Mr P.'s favourite dish.  But he valiantly ate it for dinner, while I drifted off into childhood memories of playing outside on a winter's afternoon, while fog drifted all around us, and I imagined brave knights in armour riding through the mist ...  I was a very imaginative child :-)

Serves 4:

ingredients:

750 mL - 1 Litre (3-4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock

1 tbs (15-20 mL) EV olive oil

1 brown or red onion, finely diced

3 small red chillies, chopped finely

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

200g. (1 cup) pearl barley

100 mL (a scant half cup) of white wine

200g. (7 oz) mushrooms, thinly sliced

500g. (a generous 1 lb) boneless chicken thighs, chopped into big chunks

a big!! pinch of saffron threads

a big handful (20g./1/2 cup) of parsley, chopped

2 tbs cream (or evaporated milk)

zest of half a lemon

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste - maybe 1/2-1 tsp of salt (?)

a really big!! handful of baby spinach leaves

more chopped parsley to strew over the top

Method:

Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, and let it sit while you start on the risotto

Sauté the onion, chillies and garlic in the EV olive oil (in a large saucepan) for about 5 minutes till translucent

Add the barley, and give it a good stir

Throw in the wine, and stir it until the wine has reduced by half

Now spoon in 2 ladles of stock, and stir for 5 minutes

Spoon in the rest of the hot stock, and add the mushrooms and chicken pieces

And in goes the saffron and parsley; give it a stir and let it simmer away on medium-low heat, uncovered, for about 45-50 minutes till the barley is tender, and the stock absorbed

No need for constant stirring; just check it every so often, and add more stock if it looks like it's drying out

When the barley is cooked, add the cream, lemon zest, salt and pepper, spinach leaves and the extra parsley

Notes:

I bought a sleeved bunch of parsley, and the entire bunch was 20 grams!

My risotto needed a bit more stock and a bit longer on the stove; the biodynamic barley is obviously of hardier stock than the normal store-bought stuff

ingredients gathered

simmering stock at the back; aromates sautéing in the front

sauté the barley

hot stock

stir in the chicken, parsley etc.

throw in the spinach at the end

throw on the parsley

Barley stalks © Sherry M.