What's On The Side: Pearled Barley Risotto

It's time for another installment of "What Grains Can I Cook in My Rice Cooker?". For tonight's side, I decided it was about time I cooked up some of the pearled barley I had bought at the co-op a few months back. So what's pearled barley? Pearled barley is actually a processed version of regular barley -- making it slightly less nutritious. "Pearled" means that the outer hull has been removed as well as the bran layer. One upside of the process is that it takes a bit less time to cook and is not quite as chewy as regular barley. For my side dish, I used this recipe for Meyer lemon risotto from 101 Cookbooks as my starting point.

Pearled Barley Risotto (printer-friendly version)

makes 4 servings

1 C pearled barley

2 C + 2 T water

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 C dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated

2 T olive oil

1/2 C Romano cheese, grated

1 C baby spinach, chopped

1/3 C Greek yogurt

1 t lemon zest

freshly ground black pepper

fine sea salt

1. Add the barley and water to a rice cooker. Cook on the regular white setting -- let sit at least 15 minutes after cooking time is complete.

2. Rehydrate the dried porcini mushrooms by placing them in a bowl and covering with boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. When the time is up, drain off the liquid.

2. Add the olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium heat.

3. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds.

4. Add in the chopped celery and mushrooms. Continue stirring to cook evenly. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. When the barley is cooked, add in the vegetables, cheese, spinach, Greek yogurt, and lemon zest. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.