eclaire (what’s in a) name?

as i was beginning to come out of my post-holiday cooking hiatus, i read a blog post over at smitten kitchen (have you checked out her website? it’s fabulous!) about a barley risotto with beans and leafy greens. i had never tried to cook anything with barley, and the pictures left me absolutely drooling, so i starred the post (my version of clipping a recipe out of a newspaper), and vowed to come back to it.

when it came time to pick recipes for the week, though, i couldn’t seem to bear the thought of standing and stirring and babying barley for over 30 minutes, in the same way that you have to watch over arborio rice (arborio’s what is used in a classic risotto). i was just starting to feel like cooking again, and didn’t want to lose all my enjoyment of the process in one arduous recipe. so i gave up on the recipe and started flipping through cookbooks for something equally hearty but much simpler.

lo and behold, i ran across a recipe for barley with spinach and peas in one of my all time favorite cookbooks, the one-dish vegetarian: 100 recipes for quick and easy vegetarian meals, by maria robbins. instead of stirring and slowly cooking the barley, you could just pour in all the broth at once, then walk away and exercise in the 30 minutes it simmers away on its own. i loved smitten kitchen’s idea of beans, though, so i swapped out some white beans for the peas called in the original recipe.

i excitedly ate this dish all of last week (it makes around 7 servings!). every meal, i enjoyed the healthy, hearty ingredients plus the smidgen of indulgence from the butter and parmesan. while you can still taste all of the veggies and grains (i discovered that i LOVE the chewy texture of barley), the broth and butter and cheese add a creaminess that is simply delightful. this recipe is definitely a keeper – i believe it’s going to become a standard in our dinner rotation, along with roasted veggies with polenta, honey glazed tofu with couscous, lentil dal, and chick pea tacos.

one year ago: banana bread

barley “risotto”

yields 6-7 servings
adapted from the one dish vegetarian and smitten kitchen

• 2T olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 4c vegetable broth (i always use rapunzel bouillon)
• 1½c pearl barley, rinsed
• 10oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess water (or 1lb spinach, washed and chopped)
• 15oz beans (we used great northern beans, but i think any kind of white bean (ie- cannellini) or kidney bean would work well), drained and rinsed
• 1T butter
• 1/2c parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
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• heat olive oil in a large pan, then saute the onion for 5 minutes over medium heat
• add the celery and carrots and saute for 5 more minutes
• pour the vegetable broth and add the barley into the pan and bring to a boil
• cover and allow to simmer for 30 minutes
• add the spinach and beans, cover again, and cook for 15  more minutes
• stir in butter and parmesan cheese, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve