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  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 large shallot
    or small onion, finely chopped
  • 300g squash
    or pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes
  • 2 garlic cloves
    crushed
  • small handful of sage
    leaves, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp ground mace
    or a good grating of nutmeg
  • 160g spinach leaves
  • 2 x 400g cans barley
    in water, drained
  • 300ml hot vegetable stock
  • 40g parmesan
    or vegetarian alternative, finely grated

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal336
    low
  • fat10g
    low
  • saturates5g
  • carbs40g
  • sugars9g
  • fibre10g
    high
  • protein16g
  • salt0.9g
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Method

  • step 1

    Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat, and fry the shallot with a pinch of salt for 5 mins until soft. Add the squash, garlic, sage and mace, and fry, stirring continually, for another 6-8 mins until the squash is starting to soften and the garlic is fragrant.

  • step 2

    Tip in the spinach and barley with some seasoning and the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 4-5 mins until the spinach has wilted. Add a splash more stock or water, if you like. When the ‘risotto’ is thick and creamy, taste to see if it needs a little more mace or nutmeg and seasoning. Stir in most of the parmesan, then top with the remaining parmesan and grind over some black pepper to serve.

RECIPE TIPS

USING DRIED PEARLED BARLEY?

If you want to use dried pearled barley, cook 200g pearl barley in boiling salted water for 50 mins to 1 hr until tender with just a little firmness to the middle of the grains. Drain and rinse, then it’s ready for use in this recipe. You can also cook it for 10-15 mins in a pressure cooker, if you prefer.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, Christmas 2020

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Comments, questions and tips (5)

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Overall rating

A star rating of 4.3 out of 5.7 ratings

queene469

question

I’ve never seen tinned barley in tins for sale were would one purchase them?

goodfoodteam avatar
goodfoodteam

Hi, thanks for your question. It isn't very widely available but can be found in some larger supermarkets or online. It can be easier to find pouches of cooked barley mixed with other grains which would also work well. Alternatively you can cook your own barley, or use other tins or pouches of…

Len Rogers

Lovely recipe, but I can’t believe it is only 2servings at 335 calories each. The barley alone is about 670 calories. I suspect it is a 4 serving recipe at 335 calories per serving.

samantha rogers 1 avatar

samantha rogers 1

question

Can I substitute dry pearl barley for the 2 cans of barley in water and if so, how much pearl barley would I need?

goodfoodteam avatar
goodfoodteam

Hello, thank you for your question. To serve 2 you would need 150g dried pearl barley. Add the pearl barley at the beginning of step 2 and increase the stock to 600ml. Simmer gently for about 30 mins, stirring occasionally until the liquid has been absorbed and the pearl barley is tender but still…

mad.dee

Delicious and super easy!

emma.copsey

delicious

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