Advertisement

  • 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:

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

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

Advertisement

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Overall rating

A star rating of 4.3 out of 5.7 ratings
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement