Cookery corner - Pearl barley, butternut squash and mushroom risotto
Mary Llewellin
Monday, October 17, 2016
Replacing rice with pearl barley gives the risotto, served with roasted cauliflower, a lovely texture in this delicious autumnal recipe from Dani, one of our lovely Snapdragons chefs.
Squash, mushrooms and sage are all in season and they work so well together you’d almost think they were married, and the roasted turmeric cauliflower adds a burst of autumn sunshine to cheer up the shortening days.
Ingredients
Serves 10 children
? 20g butter ? 1 large onion ? 2 cloves of garlic ? 2 bay leaves ? 1 small butternut squash ? 200g chestnut mushrooms ? 200g pearl barley ? 1 low-salt vegetable stock cube ? Handful of fresh sage leaves ? Half a large cauliflower ? 2tsp turmeric ? 2tsp ground cumin ? 2tbsp mascarpone (optional) ? Rapeseed oil
Method 
- Start by preheating your oven to 200°C. Chop the onion and garlic and soften in a pan with some rapeseed oil. As they begin to turn translucent, add the mushrooms and sage, roughly chopped. While this is cooking, make your stock with 750ml boiling water.
- When the mushrooms have completely softened, add the bay leaves and pearl barley and pour over the stock. Bring this to a boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer with a lid on. Pearl barley takes around 45 minutes to cook.
- Peel the squash, discard the seeds and cut the flesh into bite-size cubes and set aside. Cut the cauliflower into florets and lay out on a baking tray. Drizzle with a little rapeseed oil, turmeric and cumin and place in the oven to roast for about 30 minutes, or until you can easily push a knife through the stalks.
- When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, remove the lid and add the squash. Keep the barley simmering and top up with water if it looks a little dry.
- Just before the risotto has finished cooking, stir through the mascarpone, if using. Serve with the cauliflower and a little black pepper.
