Recipe Courtesy of The Healthy Matcha Cookbook, by Miryam Quinn-Doblas, MS, RD
What most people don’t realize about risotto is that it is actually a cooking method, not necessarily the name of a specific dish or type of rice. In Italian cooking, a traditional risotto is made with a starchy, short-grained rice called Arborio rice. When cooked slowly with the addition of warm stock over time, the rice absorbs the liquid, fluffs up and at the same time releases its natural starches to create a creamy and decadent dish. You can use this risotto method of cooking with just about any grain you like; the key is to slowly cook the grain with liquid over time, adding more and more as it absorbs.
This decadent vegetarian risotto dish is made with barley. With the addition of sliced mushrooms, garlic, onion, fresh thyme, Parmesan cheese (and the secret ingredient of matcha tea powder—yeah!) this amazing dish is a lovely side to your favorite protein, or a nice vegetarian main dish. Experiment with making a risotto dish with your favorite grain—it’s a technique you’ll be glad you mastered!
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Barley Risotto’
Ingredients:
- Recipe Courtesy of The Healthy Matcha Cookbook, by Miryam Quinn-Doblas*
- 3 cups barley
- 6-7 cups vegetable stock
- 20 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 teaspoons matcha powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme powder
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- fresh thyme
- (I added in some fresh watercress for a peppery and lovely green addition to the risotto*)
Directions:
- In a 3-quart Dutch oven over medium to high heat, add the olive oil and onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and salt and cook the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the barley, matcha powder, and thyme powder and coat the barley with the pan ingredients. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the flame to low and don’t add any more liquid until the vegetable stock has been consumed. Repeat this step until all your liquid is gone, adding 2 cups at a time and stirring the risotto in between adding more stock.
- When the barley is soft, make sure you still have a little bit of visible stock in the pan, and turn off the heat. At this stage, you can add the herbs and Parmesan cheese. Stir and serve while still warm.
Tagged: barley, barley risotto, green tea powder, matcha, matcha powder, Miryam Quinn-Doblas, mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, pearled barley, risotto, The Healthy Matcha Cookbook, thyme, vegetable stock, vegetarian, white wine
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