Since falling in love with silverbeet a few months ago now, it is not unusual for a bunch to find its way into my trolley during a supermarket wander. Generally inexpensive, brimming with nutrients, its no surprise that it is one of my favourite vegetables at the moment.
While I tend to stir it through a warm salad or stir-fry, I decided to get a little creative with my latest bunch. I also had a small pumpkin from leftover from our vegetable box, and was quite intrigued ‘silverbeet + pumpkin’, typed into a search engine, returned the most delightful sounding silverbeet and pumpkin risotto. But not just any risotto, a pearl barley risotto.
You can find the recipe I followed here.
Like all good risottos, this one took time. I started by steaming the pumpkin, then processing it into a puree. Meanwhile, I sautéed sliced leek and garlic until soft, then added the white wine – letting it cook until it was evaporated. Then in went the pearl barley, and unlike regular risotto, I added all the stock at once. Lid on, and let the mixture slowly bubble away for a good 40 minutes or so.
To finish, I added the pumpkin puree, frozen peas and, of course, the shredded silverbeet leaves.
Finished with a good amount of grated parmesan, and we had ourselves quite the winter warmer meal.
I really enjoyed this dinner. Hearty, flavoursome, and pretty damn healthy.
A nice ‘take’ on a classic, that even the little Miss gobbled up with gusto.
A winner all round! What about you? Do you have a favourite vegetable at the moment?
Looks great, never tried making pearl barley risotto before. Try making spanakopita with silverbeet… it is soo good. Silverbeet is really easy to grow too! (unless the darn snails get to it)
That looks perfect for this cold Winter weather.
Carolyn
I only bought pearl barley on the weekend for soup when I thought I'd like to try making pearl barley risotto Lisa. I don't have to go looking for a recipe at the moment. Big fan of silverbeet here too. I think my favourite veg is pumpkin but red capsicum follows closely.
Anne xx