Vegetarian Barley 'Risotto' with Pumpkin, Spinach and White Wine

I know, I know, this is the second barley dish in three days, but I'm not apologising.

I'm trying to get the best out of the last part of winter, and what makes a better comfort food than risotto? While I made a meat-content one the day before last, I wanted to try my hand at a vegetarian one.

I adapted a recipe I found in a Super Food Ideas magazine. I'm unable to find a version of it online, I assume because it's from the current magazine (August 2013). Once it's available through taste.com.au I'll post a link to it, even though my modifications make my recipe a vastly different one. For starters, the SFI recipe uses a mix of barley and aborio rice, and it uses cream. I adopted the method of their recipe though, so thought I should mention it here.

Pre-soak the barley for 4 hours before cooking

Recipe

Makes: 4 meals
Cooking time: 45 mins (+4 hours for pre-soaking the barley)
Vegan/Vegetarian

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried pearl barley, soaked in water for 4 hours
1 kg Jap pumpkin, peeled, with 700 grams sliced thinly and 300 grams chopped into small cubes
1 brown onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 portions of frozen spinach (around 150 grams)
2 litres of stock (I used vegan Massel stock cubes, one chicken style and one vegetable style with water), stock should be heated
1 cup of white wine (I used chardonnay)
salt, white pepper, black pepper
olive oil

Frozen spinach, celery, onion, garlic and cubed pumpkin

Method:

In a medium sauce pan place thinly sliced pumpkin and cover with the warmed stock. Cook over a moderate heat until pumpkin is soft, then mash with a fork, retaining the stock.

Before the stock is added

Cooked and mashed

In a large heavy based sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry the brown onion and celery until onion is translucent. Add 1/4 cup of the white wine and cook over a high heat until half is evaporated. Add another 1/4 cup and reduce to half again.

Drain the barley and add to the onion and celery mix, along with a half a litre of the warmed stock. Bringing it to the boil, cook it for about 5 minutes. Add the mashed pumpkin mix to the barley and continue to cook on a high heat, stirring occasionally. You can season the mix with salt and white pepper at this stage. Once stock has reduced a bit more, add the frozen spinach to the pan and stir through, adding more stock when necessary.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C and place the diced pumpkin pieces in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of olive oil, some cracked salt and pepper. Once oven is hot, bake pumpkin for about 10 mins, until just cooked. The cubes should still hold their shape, so don't over-cook them.

As the spinach de-frosts in the barley mix it will release a lot of liquid - this is good as that liquid contains vitamins. When cooking the risotto don't be afraid of using a high heat to reduce the liquid content, making sure to stir constantly and top up with the warmed stock. When the barley is 3/4 done (at around the 30 min mark) add the rest of the white wine to the pot and reduce as before.

Barley is cooked when it is soft to the bite, but still a tiny bit firm. I personally like my barley with a bit of firmness, but you can cook it until it is softer if you like.

Once barley is cooked to your liking, take it off the heat and let it sit for 5 mins. After it has rested, stir it and add the roasted pumpkin pieces, folding them through gently. Serve.

Notes:

While this dish is labour intensive, it is a real winner - the barley is so creamy from the mashed pumpkin that you wont even notice the missing dairy. It is a great meat free dish, and it's a good one to make extra for a take-to-work lunch the next day.

Recipe without photos - for easier copy/paste printing

Vegetarian Barley 'Risotto' with Pumpkin, Spinach and White Wine Recipe

Makes: 4 meals
Cooking time: 45 mins (+4 hours for pre-soaking the barley)
Vegan/Vegetarian

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried pearl barley, soaked in water for 4 hours
1 kg Jap pumpkin, peeled, with 700 grams sliced thinly and 300 grams chopped into small cubes
1 brown onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 portions of frozen spinach (around 150 grams)
2 litres of stock (I used vegan Massel stock cubes, one chicken style and one vegetable style with water), stock should be heated
1 cup of white wine (I used chardonnay)
salt, white pepper, black pepper
olive oil

Method:

In a medium sauce pan place thinly sliced pumpkin and cover with the warmed stock. Cook over a moderate heat until pumpkin is soft, then mash with a fork, retaining the stock.

In a large heavy based sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry the brown onion and celery until onion is translucent. Add 1/4 cup of the white wine and cook over a high heat until half is evaporated. Add another 1/4 cup and reduce to half again.

Drain the barley and add to the onion and celery mix, along with a half a litre of the warmed stock. Bringing it to the boil, cook it for about 5 minutes. Add the mashed pumpkin mix to the barley and continue to cook on a high heat, stirring occasionally. You can season the mix with salt and white pepper at this stage. Once stock has reduced a bit more, add the frozen spinach to the pan and stir through, adding more stock when necessary.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C and place the diced pumpkin pieces in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of olive oil, some cracked salt and pepper. Once oven is hot, bake pumpkin for about 10 mins, until just cooked. The cubes should still hold their shape, so don't over-cook them.

As the spinach de-frosts in the barley mix it will release a lot of liquid - this is good as that liquid contains vitamins. When cooking the risotto don't be afraid of using a high heat to reduce the liquid content, making sure to stir constantly and top up with the warmed stock. When the barley is 3/4 done (at around the 30 min mark) add the rest of the white wine to the pot and reduce as before.

Barley is cooked when it is soft to the bite, but still a tiny bit firm. I personally like my barley with a bit of firmness, but you can cook it until it is softer if you like.

Once barley is cooked to your liking, take it off the heat and let it sit for 5 mins. After it has rested, stir it and add the roasted pumpkin pieces, folding them through gently. Serve.