277984 Wed May 18 07:09:12 -0700 2005 9 31 Home Cooking 0 1470242 Hi. I'm entertaining some out of town guests this week-end. Dinner menu so far - bbq'd leg of lamb, roast asparagus with parmesan and maybe some fiddleheads. I thought I might round it out with a barley "risotto", maybe with wild mushrooms and a drizzle of truffle oil. If I substitute barley in a regular risotto recipe, would the liquid:grain ratio and cooking time be similar? Would pearl barley or hulled barley have a better texture? Any good recipes out there? Thanks! Wed May 18 07:09:12 -0700 2005 0 peppermint pate 1 1470248 According to page 181 of Judith Barrett's book, Risotto, 4 cups of liquid are required to 1 cup of pearl barley. The total cooking time for barley is about 35 minutes. Have you used a search engine with the keywords 'barley risotto' to see if other instructions are available? Wed May 18 08:52:20 -0700 2005 1470242 0 ChiliDude 2 1470347 Thanks for the advice. I had done a search on this board and googled "barley risotto" before posting my note. Cheers. Wed May 18 21:34:39 -0700 2005 1470248 0 peppermint pate 1 1470256 Epicurious has a few recipes. I've made the one linked to below (but with vegetable broth instead of chicken). It was nice but not very risotto-y. The barley stays fairly dry and separate, and it doesn't get particularly creamy. Also, it takes a very long time for the barley to absorb the liquid; the 50 minutes in the recipe is optimistic, I think. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/4401?epiSearchPage=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/find/results?search=barley+risotto Wed May 18 10:05:51 -0700 2005 1470242 0 Grace 1 1470263 Nigella lawson gives a recipe in "How to Eat", and calls it 'orzotto' (orzo is the italian word for barley). She uses 1 1/4C pearl barley to 2 quarts stock, and says it will take longer than rice risotto, roughly 35-45 minutes. She says the secret to combatting the dryness the poster below mentioned is to stir in creme fraiche or heavy cream (1/4-1/2C for the recipe). This amount is supposed to serve six as a main course. Hope this helps... Wed May 18 11:09:40 -0700 2005 1470242 0 kate 2 1470362 I will definitely incorporate some creme fraiche at the end of cooking. Thanks for the tip. Thu May 19 08:28:59 -0700 2005 1470263 0 peppermint pate 1 1470265 The recipe below is for a barley pilaf--similar idea to a risotto. If you've never worked with barley before in this capacity, I'd recommend a pilaf over a risotto as timing isn't so crucial. It can be finished ahead of time and left to keep warm. Pearl barley is preferred over pot barley, as pearl barley has a finer texture and will cook a little faster. It seems like it takes the barley forever to brown, but once it does start to brown, it goes fairly quickly. I'd also recommend a shallower and wider rather than a deeper and narrower baking dish for this one to help the barley absorb the liquid better. I haven't made this recipe in a while, but there is one other caveat if you decide to use this recipe. The timing seems to work well for smaller quantities, but the full recipe seems to need a longer baking time. But, as I say, you can finish this one ahead of time and allow it to keep warm. Barley Pilaff Serves 8 From Chatelaine's Adventures in Cooking by the Editors of Chatelaine (Maclean-Hunter, Ltd., 1969) 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine 1/2 lb (8 oz./227 g) Fresh Mushrooms, thinly sliced (approximately 2-1/2 cups) 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Onion 1-1/3 cups Pearl Barley (not Pot Barley) 5 cups hot Chicken Broth Preheat oven to 350ºF. In 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine, sauté mushrooms until tender, 4-5 minutes. Lift out mushrooms with slotted spoon, and set aside. In same skillet, heat remaining butter or margarine; sauté onion until golden, about 5-10 minutes. Add barley, and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until barley is golden brown (this takes about 15 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in mushrooms and 2 cups hot broth. Turn mixture into a 2-quart (2-L/8-cup) casserole dish and bake, covered about 30 minutes. Stir in 2 more cups hot broth, cover, and bake another 30 minutes or until barley is tender. Finally, stir in remaining broth, and bake 20 minutes longer. Serve with veal, chicken, or ham. Approximately 1/2 hour sautéeing time and 1-1/2 hours baking time. Wed May 18 11:30:24 -0700 2005 1470242 0 Geogrrl 1 1470273 my mother in law makes a barley risotto that is really good. she adds shallots, pine-nuts, fresh chopped parsley and cracked pepper. and lots of butter. :) not sure about the barley/water ratio, but I'd think you'd want to use pearl barley. Wed May 18 12:21:19 -0700 2005 1470242 0 megan 1 1470318 my recipe uses 1c pearl barley and 6c stock. Plus butter, onion, mushrooms, wine, garlic, s&P. It's really good. good luck Wed May 18 17:10:59 -0700 2005 1470242 0 CT 1 1470363 Thanks for all of the tips and recipes. I'm looking forward to trying something new. Thu May 19 08:32:24 -0700 2005 1470242 0 peppermint pate