Barley Risotto

In the interest of cooking with more whole grains, and less white rice, I developed this recipe for risotto using pearl barley. It turned out fabulously, and now makes regular appearances at our weekend dinners.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
4 cups vegetable broth, hot
2 tbsp tomato paste*
1 med red pepper, diced**
1/2 med zucchini, diced**
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or asiago cheese (optional)

Heat oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until translucent. Add barley and thyme, and cook for a couple of minutes to toast and add nutty flavour. Stir the tomato paste into the veggie broth. Add 1/4 of the veggie broth to the barley and onions. Stir often. Once the barley has absorbed most of the broth, add the second 1/4 of the broth. Continue in this manner. When adding the last 1/4 of broth, also add the diced veggies. Stir until the liquid has been absorbed, and risotto has a creamy texture. Add cheese if you are doing so. Serve immediately.

*you can buy tomato paste in tubes, or little cans. I find that most recipes only call for a couple of tablespoons, so I use what I need for the recipe, and freeze the rest in 2 tbsp portions for future recipes.

**you can really use whatever veggies you like, but dice them small. Paul insists on having mushrooms in this sometimes, so I make sure they're in large chunks so I can pick the disgusting slimy things out.

This recipe is also really tasty if you leave out the thyme and stir in some fresh basil at the end, with the cheese.