Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Recipe: Barley Risotto



When it comes to eating local foods you sometimes realize that substitutions need to be made.  Risotto is one dish that we’ve found we can eat in a 100% local version, so long as we replace the rice with a local grain.  
Barley lends itself well to replacing rice in risotto for a number of reasons.  Although the final taste and texture are fairly different from rice, it does just as good of a job at soaking up the flavours of the dish and holding its form.  Barley actually takes more liquid than rice which gives it a bigger opportunity to take on the surrounding flavours of the risotto.
There are a decent number of variations on this theme on the internet, including bacon barley risotto and mushroom barley risotto.  This recipe keeps it very simple and vegetarian, with just some onions and carrots for the additions.
We used our own hard cider instead of wine and it worked well, but you can just use whatever is easiest to find or whatever you already have.  You can serve the risotto as a main dish or a side.  We had it as a main but felt that the whole meal was sort of a meal of sides.  
A similar use for barley is in tabbouleh, where it replaces the bulgur wheat.  Another use is in a beef stew with lots of veggies.  We bought Oak Manor pearl barley (this barley is great for cooking as the husk has been removed) in the 12kg size from Bailey’s and assume this means we’ll be eating barley dishes all winter!  



Barley Risotto
Recipe from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, available at KPL.
  • 4 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tbsp. oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 ½ cups pearl barley
  • 1 cup white wine or hard cider
  • 1 tsp. thyme (fresh or dry)
  • 2 ounces parmesan or other hard cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • Salt and pepper
In one pot bring the broth and water to a simmer.  In a second larger pot or Dutch oven heat the oil and add the onion and carrot.  Cook the vegetables until they are soft.  
Add the barley to the veggies and stir until they are beginning to get lightly toasted, a few minutes.  Add the wine or cider and cook until it is fully absorbed.
Add the thyme and 3 cups of the warm broth.  Over the next hour or so continue adding broth to the risotto and stirring occasionally.  Any time the broth has mostly been absorbed add more.  As it cooks you’ll need to stir more frequently.  I recommend having a book nearby to read for a few minutes at a time between stirs….
When the broth is all cooked into the risotto or the barley is cooked sufficiently turn off the heat.  Stir in the parmesan and butter and season with salt and pepper to your liking.  
Serve with an Ontario white wine or a very local KW Craft Cider!

Order for next Monday! We have the best cheese in town - and invite you to use coupons!!

Order at www.baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering!
Order at www.baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering!
KW's year-round online farmers market
We do not have a check out button!
Please ensure that your shopping cart is empty if you do not intend to order.
Order Here!
Fill your shopping cart by Wednesday November 25th to pick up your order
MONDAY, November 30th between 3:30pm and 7pm at First United Church, Waterloo

Cheese coupons! Yes please!

If you see the 'all you need is cheese' magazine in your mail or at a store, be sure to pick one up and check out the recipes and the coupon for $1 off Mountainoak and Local Dairy cheeses.
  • What is your favourtie Gouda from Mountainoak Cheese? We have so many flavours now! Farmstead Premium, Gold, Black Truffle, Black Pepper, Friesian and Wild Nettle to name a few!
  • Local Dairy has ghee and cultured butter from grass fed cows in addition to cheeses like their Queso Fresco and buttery Mozzarella, Yogourt, Creme Fraiche and Crema La Vaquita.
  • Did you eat all your perogies from Good Stuffed Perogies? Be sure to order more for a quick and tasty meal! (serve with Crema La Vaquita!)
  • Vegetable, Chicken and Beef Bone Broth from Well Preserved is back on our order form! Tiffany will also be sampling at the next pickup if you want to try her chicken broth.
  • Brenda Knechtel has Jerusalem Artichokes available! They have a wonderful flavour and are similar to potatoes. Check out this recipe for J-choke souffle!
  • Bowman's Organic Produce has made Apple Butter (look for it in the 'jams and jellies' section in the pantry) and lots of frozen fruit and vegetables too!
  • Wheat Free Gingerbread  and GF Christmas Cookie Assortments from Circle of Life are now being baked.
  • Organic Candy Cane and Pumpkin Ice Cream (among other flavours) from Mapleton's Dairy is now here!
  • Get your bulk Daikon Radishes from Fertile Ground are great for making pickles
  • Warner's Farm has Rosehips and Saskatoon Berries in addition to super yummy Pears!
  • We're fully stocked with Sparkling Apple Cider from The Cider Keg including their newest flavour - Crimson Cabaret!
  • Harmony Organic has Egg Nog! This year we're offering 1 L cartons and 1 L glass bottles (price includes $2 deposit)
Have a great day,
Rachael and Maryrose
Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram Google+

We're looking for Local Artisans!


The holidays are quickly approaching and we are looking for artisans to set up at our annual artisan market on each of the pick up days in the month of December. If you are interested, please fill out our application form.
Upcoming pickup dates
at First United Church  

  • Monday, November 30th
  • Monday, December 14th
  • Monday, December 21st
  • Monday, January 11th
  • Monday, February 1st
  • Monday, February 29th
  • Monday, March 21st
  • Monday, April 11th
powered by emma