Summer is a season booked for outdoor activities, leaving us with limited time to spend in the kitchen. That’s precisely why I’ve crafted this hassle-free pearl barley risotto recipe.
With just a handful of ingredients and a cooking time of a little over 30 minutes, it lets you enjoy a delicious meal without compromising your precious time under the sun.
This pearl barley risotto recipe is a true example of how you can create nutritious meals without spending too much time cooking and still delight your taste buds with each bite.
Ingredients for pearl barley risotto with edamame
Pearl barley: Pearl barley is a refined form of barley, where the tough and inedible outer hull has been removed. Due to this processing, it does not require prior soaking and cooks relatively quickly, typically in about 30 minutes. This convenience, along with its versatility, makes pearl barley a great addition to your diet.
Edamame: Edamame refers to young soybeans harvested before reaching full maturity, resulting in their vibrant green colour and tender, creamy texture. Although not a typical ingredient in traditional risotto recipes, edamame brings a delightful twist to this pearl barley risotto. Its nutty, slightly sweet flavour and soft, creamy texture add a unique element to this dish, offering a satisfying bite without being overly chewy.
For convenience, frozen and pre-cleaned edamame is a great option to use in this recipe. However, if edamame is not readily available, you can substitute it with peas or broad beans as an excellent alternative in this pearl barley risotto recipe.
Onion: Risotto recipes are unimaginable without the addition of yellow onion. When cooked, yellow onion releases natural sugars and adds a rich, sweet flavour to this pearl barley risotto recipe, improving the overall taste of the dish. Also, it improves its texture and enhances the natural flavours of other ingredients.
Garlic: Thanks to its distinct pungency, garlic adds depth and complexity to this risotto recipe. Together with yellow onion, it makes an aromatic foundation that sets the stage for delicate courgette and nutty, sweet edamame. For the best result, try to use fresh garlic.
Courgette: Courgette has a gentle, mild flavour with a touch of sweetness that blends perfectly with the rest of the ingredients. Since it has a high water content, it adds pleasant juiciness to this pearl barley risotto recipe.
Hard cheese: Hard cheese is grated at the very end to help bind ingredients and add the creaminess you would expect from risotto recipes. Depending on your personal taste and preferences, there is a wide selection of hard cheeses to choose from. Go with more commonly used Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, or choose cheeses with a more distinct flavour profile like Pecorino Romano or Spanish Manchego.
Lemon zest: Lemon zest adds a vibrant, citrussy flavour to this pearl barley risotto, balancing the sweetness and richness of other ingredients.
How to make this pearl barley risotto?
Preparing this pearl barley risotto is a simpler task compared to the traditional method using white rice. In this recipe, the pearl barley is cooked separately and then combined with the remaining ingredients. This approach ensures even cooking and yields a lusciously creamy texture, resulting in a real culinary delight.
Cook barley
Start by thoroughly rinsing the pearl barley under cold, running water to eliminate potential debris. Next, add the rinsed barley to a pot of lightly salted, boiling water, using a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part pearl barley. Once the water reaches a gentle simmer, cover the pot and allow the barley to cook for 30-35 minutes, maintaining a light simmer throughout the cooking process. It will enable the barley to gently cook without turning mushy.
Prepare and sauté the vegetables
While the pearl barley is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients for a seamless cooking process.
Start by preparing the onion: Remove the top of the onion and slice it in half, ensuring that the cut goes through the roots. Peel the onion halves and cut them into small, uniform dice. This technique will prevent the onion halves from falling apart as you dice them.
Next comes the garlic: Trim the bottom of the garlic cloves and gently crush them with the flat side of your knife. This will make peeling the garlic cloves an effortless task. Once peeled, finely chop the garlic cloves to your desired consistency.
Prepare the courgette: Thoroughly wash the courgette, ensuring it is clean and ready to use. Cut the courgette into even stripes of your preferred length.
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and drizzle it with olive oil. Then, add the yellow onion to the pan, allowing it to sweat gently for approximately 5 minutes until it turns translucent and tender. Salt the onion lightly after a minute of cooking to speed up moisture release. Maintain a gentle heat throughout the cooking process, ensuring the onion retains its colour without browning.
Once the yellow onion reaches a desirable level of tenderness, introduce the finely chopped garlic to the pan. Cook the garlic over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Now, increase the heat slightly and add in the courgette strips. Sprinkle them with salt and let them sauté for approximately one minute before covering the pan with a lid. Covering the pan helps create steam which helps cook the vegetables while preserving their natural moisture and juiciness. Leave the pan covered and cook the vegetables for 10 minutes.
Cook the edamame
As I mentioned in a previous recipe featuring edamame buckwheat salad, there are two simple methods to prepare frozen, cleaned edamame: boiling or steaming.
To boil edamame: Add the frozen edamame to a pot of plentiful boiling water and cook them for approximately 2 minutes. Once the time is up, carefully strain the cooked edamame and refresh them in ice-cold water. This step will prevent further cooking and preserve their vibrant green colour.
To steam edamame: Place edamame in a steamer insert set over a pot of boiling water. Cover the pot and steam them for approximately 5-6 minutes. Once they are tender, refresh them like boiled edamame, submerging them in ice-cold water.
Strain edamame and leave them on the side until adding them to the risotto.
Combine the elements
After the pearl barley has cooked for 30 minutes, absorbing all the cooking liquid, it’s time to combine all the elements into a harmonious blend.
Fuse the cooked barley and edamame with the sautéed vegetables and add water. Allow them to cook together for 3-4 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. This step allows the ingredients to meld and the edamame to warm through, creating a cohesive flavour profile.
Next, remove the pan from the heat and delicately stir in the finely grated hard cheese and vibrant lemon zest. Cover the pan and let the risotto rest for another 5 minutes, allowing the flavours to develop further and the cheese to melt into a creamy consistency.
Portion pearl barley risotto and grate some more hard cheese over the top. Enjoy!
