The perfect lunch, nice and creamy while still warm, but delicious served as a cold salad the next day, as well.
Instead of the classic risotto I make with leek, I got the inspiration for this barley risotto from Edita and her blog Kuživancija.
QUANTITY
3
servings
COMPLEXITY
Simple
TIME
45
Minutes
Ingredients
- 200 g barley
- 2 smaller leeks, not the "XXL" ones
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, depending on the size
- 150 g fresh mangold
- olive oil
- Himalayan salt
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- water
- fresh or dried chive
- goat or sheep soft white cheese (similar to cottage cheese)
- grated parmiggiano or another cheese
Clean and chop the leek into ring slices and then chop them additionaly into smaller pieces.
Use only the white parts of the leek and a bit of the green.
Peel and chop the garlic finely.
On a little bit of olive oil and water, simmer the leek for about two minutes until it softens a little bit, before adding the garlic.
Season with some salt and a bit of chive.
If you use fresh chieve, chop it finely, while the dried one is usually already like that, ready to use.
Stir in the barley and about 350 ml of water, season it again with some salt a pinch of cayenne pepper (it is pretty strong, so use it with moderation).
You will be adding more water as the barley absorbs the liquid while it cooks.
After a bit more than 20 minutes, stir in the mangold, chopped, and cook shortly after that, until it softens.
I cooked the orzotto for about half an hour.
Turn off the heat, grate some cheese in, drizzle a little bit of olive oil all over it and stir in some more chive, if you like.
Serve with some white soft cheese (like cottage cheese), a bit more of parmiggiano and olive oil
Voila!
Make a big nice salad to frehen up the orzotto.
