Broccoli and Barley "Risotto"

Apparently it has been unclear that the quotes around the word risotto mean this is a mock risotto, not a true risotto...so anyone looking to not insult the Italians... do not make this dish.

I have no clue where this recipe inspiration came from...probably the year I spent obsessed with going to the library and borrowing cookbooks, marking recipes and then typing them up. It's a little different than the original, but the idea is the same.


You could use instant barley if you want, but I had good old fashioned pearl barley.

I followed the package directions and added 1 cup barley to 3 cups of boiling stock.

While the barley's cooking, prep a few cups of broccoli to roast.

Roasted! I may or may not have burned the garlic...and then picked around it when I added it to the barley.

Now we make a cheesy roux...

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, and then whisk in the flour.

Add about 1/3 of the milk and whisk.

It will make a thick paste like this...

Then slowly add the remainder of the milk, whisking the whole time.

Continue stirring as the mixture boils and thickens.

Then add the cheese to melt it.

Then add about a 1/4-1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg.

Stir in the cooked barley.

Then stir the broccoli into the mixture...then you'd take a picture of the delicious finished project if you weren't making spaghetti sauce for tomorrow at the same time.

This is wonderful and creamy.


Broccoli and Barley "Risotto"
1 cup pearl barley
3 cups boiling chicken or veggie stock
Stir barley into stock and simmer for 40-50 minutes.

3 cups trimmed broccoli
1 Tbl Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Toss together and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.

2 Tbl butter
2 Tbl flour
1 1/2 cups milk...I used skim.
1 1/2 cups cheese...the original recipe called for Gruyere, I had cheddar and mozzarella, so it's what I used.
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Melt butter in sauce pan and whisk in flour. Add 1/3 of the milk and whisk to make a paste, then slowly whisk in the remainder of the milk. Heat until thick and bubbling. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add nutmeg. Stir in barley and broccoli. Serve warm.