Barley Risotto with Ham and Mushrooms

Here’s a weeknight meal that will make great leftovers for lunches: barley risotto! Barley is a seldom used grain, but it’s even easier to cook than arborio rice. It’s also higher in fiber.

Personally, I didn’t have any white wine on hand, so I deglazed with balsamic vinegar and that gave another interesting flavor to the risotto and a more pronounced taste to the meal! Note to self: repeat in other classic risotto recipes!

In addition, I’d advise you to wait at the table before salting your risotto, because with the ham and feta, it might be more than enough.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 250g (one small tub) white or coffee mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 250g ham, finely diced
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 1 cup (250 ml) pearl barley, dry
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinegar
• 4 cups (1 L) vegetable broth, sodium-reduced
• Pepper, to taste
• 100g feta cheese, crumbled
• Fresh dill, to taste

Preparation

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onion, celery and mushrooms in olive oil for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
2. Add ham and dry barley, and sauté for a few minutes before deglazing with balsamic vinegar.
3. Add the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. The risotto is ready when the barley has a creamy texture.
4. Garnish with feta and dill just before serving.

For other risotto recipes :

• Butternut Squash Risotto
• Seared Scallops on Green Pea and Asparagus Risotto

Nutritional values per serving: 461 calories | 48g carbohydrates | 10g fiber | 20g fat | 24g protein

Barley Risotto with Ham and Mushrooms is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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