Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta

My husband beat me to the leftovers this afternoon. That is a very good sign - not only did we like it last night, we both were inclined to enjoy it again today.

This wonderful mingling of flavors, acidity from the tomatoes, velvety richness from the feta, the sharp jab of the caraway is absolute comfort food.




I found this recipe in a fabulous new cookbook - Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Both were born in Jerusalem in the same year, Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. Together, they have created a cookbook that explores all the different cultures that inhabit Jerusalem, providing bits of history and tradition as they go. The result is a look at a fascinating region in terms of its food - sometimes very similar across all cultures, other times very specific to an ethnic group.

1 cup / 200g pearl barley
2 Tb / 30g unsalted butter
6 Tb / 90ml olive oil
2 small celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 small shallots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, cut into 1/16-inch / 2mm dice
4 thyme sprigs
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
4 strips lemon peel
1/4 tsp chile flakes
one 14-oz / 400g can chopped tomatoes
scant 3 cups / 700ml vegetable stock
1 1/4 cups / 300ml passata (sieved crushed tomatoes)I used strained Pomi Tomatoes
1 Tb caraway seeds
10 1/2 oz / 300g feta cheese, broken into roughly 3/4-inch / 2cm pieces I would suggest even smaller pieces, maybe 1/2 inch
1 Tb fresh oregano leaves

Rinse the pearl barley well under cold water and leave to drain.

Melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a very large frying pan and cook the celery, shallots, and garlic over gentle heat for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the barley, thyme, paprika, bay leaf, lemon peel, chile flakes, tomatoes, stock, passata, and salt. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the risotto does not catch on the bottom of the pan. When ready, the barley should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed.

Meanwhile, toast the caraway seeds in a dry pan for a couple of minutes. Then lightly crush them so that some whole seeds remain. Add them to the feta with the remaining 4 tablespoons / 60ml olive oil and gently mix to combine. Be sure to use flavorful olive oil - you will be adding it back into the dish at the end.

Once the risotto is ready, check the seasoning and then divide it among four shallow bowls. Top each with marinated feta, including the oil, and a sprinkling of oregano leaves. Definitely taste before topping with feta - mine needed more salt.

I also added shrimp at the end - marinated peeled shrimp in lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt and red chili flakes. Three minutes before the risotto was done, the shrimp went into the risotto to cook. Truthfully, marinating probably wasn't necessary - I decided to cook the shrimp in the risotto instead of grilling it at the last minute.

Enjoy. I plan to cook my way through this book, perhaps saffron chicken next...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rockville, MD