The barley risotto with pumpkin, turmeric, and rosemary is a colorful autumn dish that’s simple to prepare. A great alternative to the classic pumpkin risotto. Since there are different types of barley available, some needing to be soaked to cook faster, always check your package and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz pumpkin
- 2 spring onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- to taste vegetable oil
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 1/4 cups barley
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 3 1/3 cups vegetable broth
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- to taste grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Steps
To prepare the barley risotto with pumpkin, turmeric, and rosemary, remove the pumpkin skin and cut the flesh into cubes about 1/2 inch in size. Peel the garlic cloves.
Heat a pan with 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sauté the garlic cloves for about a minute. Add the pumpkin cubes and rosemary, and sauté for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Once the pumpkin is sautéed, cover with a lid and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Then remove from heat.
Meanwhile, wash and slice the spring onions. Heat a pot with 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sauté the spring onions for about a minute. Add the barley and toast it, stirring. Add the ground turmeric, toast for another 30 seconds, then deglaze with the white wine and let it evaporate.
At this point, add 2-3 ladles of hot broth, stir, adjust the salt, and let the barley cook until al dente, stirring occasionally and adding more broth if the previous one is absorbed, until fully cooked. Refer to your barley package for cooking time.
About 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add the pumpkin cubes to the barley, stir, and finish cooking everything together.
Before serving, stir in the butter into your barley risotto with pumpkin, and for those who like it, some grated Parmesan cheese.
