THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Pumpkin, Blue Cheese and Blue Cheese Barley Risotto
By THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
Preparation
15 MINS
Cooking
50 MINS
Pearl barley gives an nuttiness to risotto that arborio rice can't match.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
600g peeled pumpkin, chopped into 2.5cm pieces
1 1/2 cups pearl barley
1 bay leaf
1.25 litres reduced salt vegetable or chicken stock, boiling
150g baby spinach leaves
50g reduced fat cream cheese
80g blue cheese
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Handy Tips
The chewy texture of the barley gives this risotto a suprisingly pleasant difference!
Nutrition (per serve)
| Energy (kj) | 1270 |
| Sugars (g) | 7.4 |
| Protein (g) | 13.1 |
| Dietry Fibre (g) | 7.9 |
| Fat Total (g) | 8.4 |
| Sodium (mg) | 608 |
| Saturated (g) | 4.5 |
| Calcium (mg) | 133 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 40 |
| Iron (mg) | 2.7 |
Method
- Heat oil in a large saucepan and gently cook the onion, garlic and celery for 5 minutes or until softened. Add pumpkin, barley and bay leaf and toss to coat.
- Stir in 2-3 ladles of stock and simmer, stirring often, until the stock is almost absorbed. Continue adding stock 2-3 ladles at a time until nearly all absorbed and barley is tender, this will take about 50 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf and stir in spinach until wilted. Remove from heat, stir through cream cheese and 50g of the blue cheese, cover and stand for 10 minutes. Season and serve immediately, topped with remaining blue cheese.
