Orzotto
Orzotto is an Italian dish similar to risotto, but made with pearl barley instead of rice. Out of all the recipes we've ever used pearl barley in - this has got to be our favourite! This dish is full of fresh flavours, interesting textures, and loaded with nutrition. We highly recommend you give it a whirl.
Serves
Ingredients
For the recipe
<item-todo-done>1 tbsp olive oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp olive oil<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>2 tbsp plant-based cream cheese<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 tbsp Nooch<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 onion<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 clove garlic clove<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>100g pearl barley<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 ½ vegetable stock cube - & 800ml boiling water<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>3 thyme sprigs<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>1 <item-todo-done><item-todo-done>75g cavolo nero<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>60g green beans<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>60g frozen peas<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>4 large asparagus spears<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>50g plant-based cheddar<item-todo-done><item-todo-done>40g hazelnuts<item-todo-done><item-todo-done> Salt & pepper to taste<item-todo-done>
Before you start
Preheat grill at 250°C | 1 boiled kettle | 1 litre measuring jug | whisk | 1 large saucepan | 1 wooden spoon | 1 microplane or grater | Metal tray
Prepare the barley ingredients
- Peel, trim and finely chop the onion
- Peel and grate the garlic clove
- Prepare the stock
Prepare to cook the barley
- Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onion, a pinch of salt and stir 3-4 minutes
- Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute
- Add the barley to the pan and stir for 1 minute
- Add the sage, thyme and stock to the pan, turn up the heat, so the liquid is simmering and leave the barley to cook for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring to make sure the grains don’t catch
Prepare the fresh ingredients
- Remove the cavolo nero stalks and finely chop the leaves
- Trim and cut the green beans into 1 inch pieces
- Cut the woody ends off the asparagus and cut the spears, at an angle into 2 inch pieces
Back to the barley
- Carefully remove the thyme and sage from the saucepan | Add the soft cheese and nutritional yeast to the pan and fold to combine for 1 minute
- Add the cavolo nero to the pan and fold it into the barley for 1 minute
- Add the beans and peas to the pan and gently stir for 1-2 minutes
- Set the orzotto to one side
Cook and prepare the remaining ingredients and serve
- Grate the vegan cheddar
- Place the asparagus on a baking tray, drizzle over some olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill for 2 minutes
- Add the hazelnuts to the tray and grill for two more minutes
- Grate the lemon zest over the asparagus
- Taste the orzotto and season to perfection with salt and pepper
- Spoon the orzotto into serving bowls, sprinkle over the cheese, dress in the asparagus, garnish with hazelnuts and serve immediately