Friday 11 November - Pearl Barley Risotto

I made pearl barley risotto once before, and George hated it, so I was surprised when he asked me to make some again - the reason he hated the last lot though was because I used mushrooms in it. A quick google came up with a recipe for Chorizo and Rosemary risotto which met with approval.

This was really easy to make, but did take a while for the barley to cook.

The recipe started of with slicing the chorizo and frying until crisp, with no added oil.

As with a normal risotto onions and garlic were softened, and then the grains were added, and stirred until coated in fat.

Then in with a tin of tomatoes, some chicken stock and some chopped black olives, and it was left to cook until the barley was tender - no need to add the stock a bit at a time as you have to with rice.

Just before serving the fried sausage was added along with some chopped fresh rosemary.

Will definitely be experimenting with different flavours in the future, absolutely delicious, and three completely clear plates.