This topic contains 144 replies, has 34 voices, and was last updated by William__ 7 months, 2 weeks ago.
Hi everyone
I’ve been a 5:2 devotee for two years but still making discoveries about what works and what doesn’t! I love beans! Here’s a link to a Rick Stein recipe using butter beans (aka gigantes and lima beans)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gigantes_with_tomatoes_47546s
If the link doesn’t work, go to bbc.co.uk/food and search for gigantes.
WE MODIFY THIS RECIPE!
We use tinned beans (drained and rinsed) for convenience.
We half the recipe so we use 2x240g tins.
We reduce the oil drastically to save calories. For the halved recipe we use just one tablespoon of oil.
We use spinach rather than chard.
The brilliant thing is that this recipe (with the modifications) works out at approximately 1kcal/g so if you weigh out a 300g portion you get 300 calories. The next day (non fast), we eat it cold or make hummus with what’s left and eat it with pittas.
Did I mention that it’s absolutely delicious and satisfying?
Hi all, Bit cooler up here on the Gold Coast today thank heavens!
I have been reading these awesome recipes and have made notes for future cooking.
I live on my own,this is what I do.
I find cooking in bulk works well for me. I also have a Vacuum Sealer which I find very handy. Cook a large wok of veggie stir-fry, eat one serve for dinner then let the rest go cold in the fridge. The following day I make “bags” with my sealer and divide the stir-fry into equal dinner size portions. I then seal the bags and lay them FLAT in my freezer draw. You would be surprised at how many I can fit in that draw. This way also has an advantage of you can pop the bag in boiling water to re-heat!
Dinner is served with no messy pans!
Hi, thanks for this thread. I love legumes in all their forms and eat them in some form most days. I’m not a big fan of meat or fish so legumes are a key source of protein for me. I also have IBS and a high fibre diet (about 40g per day) really manages the symptoms very well. Legumes are a key source of fibre for me, in addition to plenty of veg and wholegrains.
I have almost a whole shelf in my pantry filled with containers of dry beans, chickpeas, lentils, dahls etc. (If I ever got snowed in I wouldn’t go hungry – not that that’s likely in Adelaide!)
Cooked chickpeas and lentils make a really good basis for a dip. Just soak and cook until tender, drain and puree them. Then add a Middle Eastern or North African spice blend such as harissa, chermoula, baharat, or rasa-el-hanout. I also like to add some lemon or lime juice and sometimes a dash of tamari sauce or sesame oil. Having something like this in the fridge means that even on a day when you don’t have whole legumes in a meal you can use this dip with with raw veg, or use it as a spread on a sandwich – I use a generous layer as an alternative to meat or cheese.
I’ve found that my digestive system is a whole lot healthier since I’ve been incorporating legumes into my diet most days.
People worry about bloating or wind from legumes. I found that there is a transition period of 2-3 weeks, once you start eating them regularly – then my small intestine seemed to adapt and I had no further issues – I’m assuming it was probably my gut bacterial flora taking a few weeks to change as my legume intake changed.
Lentil Spread.
225g dry red lentils 4tsp curry powder
400ml water (approx) 3tbs tomato paste
25g butter 1tsp lemon juice
1 onion finely chopped
Rinse and drain Lentils,place in pan with water and simmer until lentils are tender and water is absorbed mash with fork.(might need more Water)
melt butter and fry onion until soft add curry pwd and fry 1-2 mins.add lentils and tomato paste and lemon juice season to taste.
I add more lemon juice and sometimes less curry pwd do it to your liking.This is from an old recipe book from the seventies .
this is a wonderful thread:) being vegetarian beans and other legumes play a huge part in my diet. I eat them every day.
Today I made a sweet potato curry:
about 1kg sweet potatoes cubed
a large chunk of ginger and a couple of chillies chopped
about 3 red onions chopped
spinach a big bag of fresh or a couple of tins
a tin of toms
a litre of soyamilk
4 tins of borlotti beans
spices (see below)
heat a generous amount of olive oil in a big pan
add lots of coriander and fennel seeds, and a few cumin and cardamom seeds
add the chopped ginger and chillies
then add the onion and a teaspoon of molasses sugar (can be omitted)
fry the onion gently until it is caramelising well then add the cubed sweet potato. keep this well stirred so it doesn’t stick. cook until the sweet potato is soft and can be mashed. then add the ground spices – a generous amount of coriander, chilli powder and fennel and a little cumin. stir well for a minute so the spices mix into the oil and cook a little then mash the mixture before adding a tin of tomatoes and the drained beans and spinach and a teaspoon of seasalt. a little water can be added if there is still a risk of sticking. heat through thoroughly. when it is bubbling add the soyamilk. heat it up again but not to boiling point or it will curdle. the soyamilk thickens it really nicely. serve with rice.
this is entirely vegan. I am not afraid of oil and this really needs a good amount or the sweet potatoes will stick and burn. everything else in it is low fatand the oil makes it more filling too. I am generous with spices too. At least a tablespoon where I said lots is a rough estimate. A teaspoon where I said a little or a few would be about right too.
if available I often add a chopped bulb of fennel to this too along with the sweet potato
My favourite lentil veg soup:
I have given approximate quantities, what I actually put into each batch of soup always depends on what’s in season, what’s affordable and good quality when I go to the green grocer and what’s actually in the fridge when I get around to making it. Depending on which veg you use it is roughly 100 calories per 250ml cup – and very filling. This makes 3 litres of soup.
2 sweet potatoes (or a similar amount of butternut)
1-2 onions
2 sticks celery
2 cups of other veg (eg carrots, zucchini, button mushroooms, button squash, broccoli, eggplant)
1-2 tsp garlic
1 tsp dried oregano (or dried mixed herbs)
200g split red lentils (you can replace 50g with quinoa or pearl barley)
400g tin tomatoes
2 tsp oil
3 tsp chicken stock powder (I use Massel low sodium vegetarian stock powders)
a little ground pepper
Scrub or peel the veg and chop. Heat the oil in a pot that holds at least 3 litres. Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened but not brown. Add the remaining fresh veg and stir for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients and cover with water, bring to a simmer. You will need to top up with water as the lentils cook. (I usually end up with about 3 litres.) Cook until the veg is very tender.
I then roughly puree the soup so that it is mostly smooth with a few chunks remaining, but you don’t have to.
This is a soup that always tastes better the next day. It thickens more and the flavour seems to “round out” in a really pleasing way. I freeze much of it in single serves – it keeps for months frozen and reheats well.
One website which has a lot of recipies that I like is BBC Food. I notice that today they are featuring recipies that are suitable for the Mediterranean diet, which of course includes some legume recipies:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/flavours_of_the_mediterranean
Very hot in Adelaide today so I made salads. My favourite uses chickpeas (garbanzo’s), a wholegrain of your choice, crunchy vegetables and a dressing that is partly middle eastern and partly asian. It works as a hot meal or a cold salad, which is how I had it tonight, as part of a salad plate with some cherry tomatoes, cucumber and curried eggs.
CRUNCHY CHICKPEA SALAD (serves 4):
NOTE: these are dry weights, before soaking and cooking
120g freekah (or couscous or quinoa or brown rice or pearl barley or kasha)
80g chickpeas
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp grated ginger
400g of chopped or coarsely grated raw crunchy vegetables (I used 300g grated carrot + 100g chopped celery, but fresh corn kernels, red capsicum, snow peas, kohlrabi, raw shelled peas, young green beans and radish are also suitable – they need to keep their crunch for as many days as the salad is likley to be in the fridge, so it’s best to not use wet veg like cucumber or tomato)
DRESSING:
2 tsp harissa OR ras-el-hanout (or any other middle eastern spice blend you like)
Zest & juice of 1 orange OR 2 limes
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp tamari
salt and pepper
Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water (I always soak and cook extra so that I can make hommus as well) – they should double in size after soaking. Discard any that turn brown and discard the soaking water. Put into a saucepan and cover with a lot of cold water. Simmer gently until soft – about 1 hour.
Prepare the grain (you can use a single grain or a mixture. Freekah takes about 80-90 minutes of simmering, brown rice and pearl barley take about 35-45 minutes, quinoa & kasha take about 20-25 minutes to cook. Couscous just needs to be soaked in boiling water, no cooking at all. Once cooked, drain the grains of any remaining water.
Mix all of the dressing ingredients together. Pour this over the cooked chickpeas and grains while they are still hot – they will soak up the flavour and much of the liquid if you do this while they are hot which gives a much better flavour to the final salad.
Once the salad has cooled add the grated or chopped vegetables and toss well. This can be eaten as a hot vegetarian meal or as a cold salad. It also works as a side dish or as the base for a platter to serve grilled meats & vegetables on top of.
One serve (1/4 of the above) is approx 950kj or 225cal, depending on your grain and veg choices. If made with freekah (dry-roasted green wheat) one serve will give you 10g protein, 3g fat, 32g carb and 11g fibre.
Optional Extras:
Chopped nuts (cashews, walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts)
sunflower seeds
currants
chopped apple or pineapple
The Quick Option:
Use a drained and rinsed tin of chickpeas OR a container of fresh lentil sprouts.
Use couscous as your grain (spelt couscous has the best flavour and more fibre)
Hi legume lovers
I bought some teff flour last week and when searching for a recipie to turn it into Ethiopian flat bread I came across a recipie for chickpea flat breads which also looks good:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chickpea_flatbreads_78711
The only ingredients are:
250g/9oz gram flour
2 pinches salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper
water
coconut oil or ghee, for frying
They suggest pan frying the flatbreads, but I usually dry fry all versions of flatbread or naan on a cast iron skillet – they never seem to stick and I get good colour on the surface of the bread.
I’m making the teff flatbreads this week, but I’ll buy some gram flour from my local health food store next week and try the chickpea version next. I normally only use gram flour for making vegetable pakoras. I have no doubt that I’ll like the flavour though, as chick peas are my favourite legume by far and I’ve never had them in a dish that I haven’t liked.
If the teff flour flatbreads work well, I’ll post the recipie on the Southern Hemisphere recipie forum.
A few more bean and lentil recipies:
White Bean and Chard Stew
Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz dried white beans (gigantes, haricot, navy), soaked overnight
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
350g/12oz chard or spinach, washed
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
small handful fresh mint, chopped
Method
Drain the beans, cover with fresh water and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 1½-2 hours until the beans are just tender.
Gently soften the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for 5 minutes. When soft, stir in the paprika, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, 100ml/3½fl oz water, salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in the chard and take off the heat.
Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3.
When the beans are cooked, drain them and mix with the tomato and chard sauce, adding a further 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped herbs.
Transfer the beans to a casserole pan, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and bake for 35–40 minutes until the beans are tender and the sauce thickened and bubbling. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
White Bean Dip
Ingredients
400g/14oz can haricot beans
20g/¾oz fresh coriander, chopped
15g/½oz mint, chopped
200g/7oz ricotta
3 tbsp olive oil
Method
Lightly crush the beans with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl.
Fold the beans together with the chopped herbs and the ricotta, without over mixing.
Trickle over the olive oil and serve.
Quick Lentil Curry
Ingredients
2 cups red lentils
1 large chopped onion
3 tsp Indian curry paste*
2 cloves garlic crushed
2-3 cm piece of fresh ginger grated
800gm tin tomatoes – roughly chopped
1-2 chopped carrots
salt & pepper
*Choose any Indian curry paste which suits the level of heat you prefer.
Method
Gently cook the onion in a little oil until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and curry paste and stir for a minute.
Add the remaining ingredients, cover with water and cook until the lentils and carrots are tender.
Serve with rice either by itself or with other curries.
The lentils can be substituted with chick peas, but they’ll need to be soaked overnight first.
Lentil Pie
Ingredients
2 cups brown lentils
1 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tblsp tomato paste
2 cups chopped vegetables (carrot & mushroom & celery work well)
2-3 large potatoes
salt & pepper
chilli powder or chilli sauce to taste
Method
Soak the lentils for at least 2 hours. Drain, then cover with fresh water in a saucepan and simmer until tender. Drain and set aside.
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water. When tender drain them and mash with a little butter and milk.
Gently cook the onion and garlic in a little oil until translucent. Remove from the heat and combine with all other ingredients except the potato mash. Spread the mixture into a pie dish and top with the mash.
Bake at 200C for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden.
Serves 6-8 with salad or vegetables on the side.
Lentil Burgers
Ingredients
1 cup short gain or arborio rice
2 cups brown lentils
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup grated carrot & or zucchini
½ cup crunchy peanut paste
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp salt
1/4 sesame seeds or semolina or panko
Method
Cook the rice until very sticky. Drain and allow to cool.
Soak the lentils for at least 2 hours. Cook in boiling water until just tender. Drain and allow to cool.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and combine gently. Form into about 24 burgers and refrigerate for several hours.
Coat the burgers in seeds, panko crumbs or semolina.
Pan frying in a little olive oil.
These can also go on the BBQ, providing you use a flat grill and make sure it’s well oiled.
I tried a new recipie tonight which I quite liked. I teamed it with a creamy greek yoghurt and roti flatbreads that I made from half teff and half atta flour.
Spicy Chickpeas:
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup peeled chopped tomatoes (I used tinned as it’s winter here)
1 large grated carrot
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup water
2-3 tsp butter/ghee/oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds or powder
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp fresh grated garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 – 1 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 – 1 tsp crushed chilles or chilli powder (to taste)
In a frying pan that has a lid I heated the butter and gently cooked the onion to soften it, adding the spices and cooking them off as I stirred. After 4-5 minutes I added the carrot, chickpeas, tomatoes and water and stirred.
Simmer over a very low heat with the lid on for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the level of seasoning to suit. Keep simmering until the carrot starts to dissolve and water is evaporated. The last 10 minutes should be uncovered so that it thickens. It took about 25 minutes in total.
The recipie that I adapted this from suggests adding more butter at the end and stirring it though to make the stew glossy. I left that out as I didn’t want the extra calories, but it’s up to you.
Hi all. I have been away from the forum for some time but dipped back in and as usual am blown away by the superb comments by posters.
I came across the following recipe on the BBC.Food Recipes site, not the bbcgoodfoodrecipe site.
ITALIAN LENTIL AND TOMATO SOUP. 4 servings.
1). 100gms Green Lentils. 2).Olive oil for frying. (use low cal spray to drop cals).
3)1 med. onion finely chopped. 4) 3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped. 5)Handful fresh Basil leaves left whole, stalks finely chopped. Use fresh Rosemary in winter.
6)1x 400gm tin chopped Tomatoes.7) 400ml veg stock or chicken stock. 8) Seasoning.
To serve- grated Pecorino cheese- optional. (I dont use.)
Note- I added a small diced (very small dice) carrot.
Directions.1) Simmer Lentils in lge pan 20 mins. Do not season.
2).Heat large sauce pan, add oil (or spray). Sweat carrots a few mins if using. Add onion, cook until onion soft and golden.
3) Add Garlic and herbs. Do not burn garlic.Once dish smells strongly of garlic add Toms. Stir to combine. 4) Drain Lentils, I rinse with boiling water. Add Lentils and stock to pan and stir. Season. 5) Simmer for 5 mins or so to allow flavours to meld.
Recipe says for 4 servings but these will be small.
Not sure of total cals but 100gms Green Lentils is 111kcals. Tin Toms is aprox 94 cals.
I did freeze a portion which turned out ok.
Enjoy.
Good luck to you all out there.
I’ve just stumbled across a website solely devoted to pulse recipes. Some are familiar but there is variety here that I haven’t seen before.
I like the fact that it contains a wide range of uses – not just whole beans/lentils/peas, but minced, ground flours etc.
http://pulses.org/component/tags/tag/world-s-greatest-pulse-dishes
I just watched an episode of “Food Safari” on SBS that was solely about pulses & legumes. They featured a version of kofte that I’d never seen before, but I think it would make a great summer dish. Unlike all versions of kofte that I’m familiar with, this one contained red lentils rather than meat, and it was not fried. In fact once you’ve made the mixture you just form it into kofte shapes and serve – no more cooking required at all.
The recipe is on the SBS website: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/turkish-lentil-and-bulgur-patties-mercimekli-kofte
On the program the kofte was served in a lettuce leaf and topped with a garnish of fermented vegetables.
This is definitely a meal that our gut bugs will love.
Cinque – I guess it was called raw because kofte is usually fried. This recipie requires raw onion which I don’t care for so I’d probably substitute either chives or cooked onions.
I find that I mostly consume legumes through dips like hommus and white bean dip in the summer as I don’t eat the legume rich soups & stews in hot weather, having an alternative dish is really welcome otherwise my gut bugs will be underfed over the summer.
I finally figured out the difference between pulses & legumes – I had though they both meant the same thing. http://www.pulsecanada.com/about-us/what-is-a-pulse Basically pulses are a sub-category of legumes and everything I consider to be a legume is actually a pulse – dried peas, beans and lentils. Things that aren’t pulses but are legumes are fresh peas & beans, peanuts and fresh soyabeans (edamame). I hadn’t known that peanuts were legumes. I guess I should start calling my choices pulses because I always use the dry beans/peas and soak & cook them myself. Although I do use frozen edamame beans as well.
I’ve been hunting down some new recipes for pulses and have found a number of useful recipe booklets from the McKenzie’s website. Obviously they will specify their product in the ingredients, but feel free to substitute with whichever brand you prefer. As McKenzie’s only sell dry pulses, not cooked and canned, all of these recipes start with dry beans/peas/lentils. To download these directly from their website you have to give them your email address, but they have now sent me the direct links to their pdf files, so I’m sharing.
The booklets on”Supergrains” contain mostly pulse recipes, with a few for grain like quinoa and freekah as well. There is one booklet for indian spices that also contains a lot of recipes for pulses.
https://www.mckenziesfoods.com.au/download/super-grains-recipes/?wpdmdl=98&_wpdmkey=59fbb9c8106a6
Enjoy.
I took an idea that CaliD discussed on the Southern Hemisphere thread about making chickpea hommus with basil or pesto in it.
I took that idea and adapted it with:
a heaped cup of cooked drained borlotti beans (cooked until almost falling apart)
all the juice and 1/3 of the zest from one lemon
about 1/4 cup homemade pesto (basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, olive oil)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (I used naturally air-dried rather than those plumper sundried tomatoes that are packed in oil)
1 heaped tsp crushed garlic
1 tblsp lemon scented olive oil
These are rough estimates of what I put in as I actually measured nothing.
I pureed it really well until I had a very smooth dip.
The texture is incredibly creamy (if I didn’t know better I’d think it was made from cream cheese rather than borlotti beans). The flavour is lovely, definitely dominated by the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes with a freshness from the lemon.
So far I’ve had it with raw veg, baked potato skins & carrot skins and rye bread. It’s good with everything, but actually I like it best with the raw veg – it best allows the dip to be the main flavour feature.
The only negative is the colour. Because I used both borlotti beans and airdried sundried tomatoes (which are dark brown), they made the final dip brown – not the most appealing colour. It doesn’t bother me because I know it tastes great, but if I saw it on a platter it certainly wouldn’t draw me in. I think using a white bean (haricot, navy etc) would fix this. Or perhaps a redder bean like adzuki or kidney. Sundried tomatoes in oil or semi-dried tomatoes are redder, so this would make the dip pink rather than brown.
Last night a stirred a little of this through steamed greens for a FD dinner.
Hi all. I am about to start Dry January and restart my 5:2 way of life. I am one of those people who look for support, help and information about a variety of issues that may help me in my endeavors. Some of these I take on board, some I store for information only and others I share in the belief that some may like me find them helpful.
This forum hits the spot in terms of support, while I only contribute rarely I do keep a weather eye on posters comments and you really do help. I would like to offer a little bit of information that may or may not be of interest to some posters. If it is fine, if it is not then no harm done and please ignore them.
I get emails from “the Blue Zone” site which has done important research on health and longevity. Recent articles on Dementia prevention and diet are very interesting. Also of interest are the articles on certain “Blue Zones around the world. Two of which are Ikaria in Greece and Loma Linda in America. I will not bore you all except to say that both areas follow a healthy diet based mainly on beans legumes and vegetables. The populations live a longer and healthier life than other areas. It is an interesting read. I also listen to a short guided meditation on You Tube by “The Honest Guys” about weight loss. It helps me.
I am not advocating a vegetarian diet nor making radical changes to your way of life and your diet. My comments are for information only.
Good luck to you all out there.
Cinque, I am going to make the stew in the next couple of weeks, although I will use a different bean as I find the skins on kidney beans a bit tough so I always substitute – usually with borlotti, but I’m thinking I might use adzuki a I happen to have some on hand.
I wanted to ask what you served the stew with when you made it. I don’t use rice so I need alternatives to accompany dishes like this.
I was thinking of perhaps a flatbread containing teff flour – just to keep the west african theme going, or perhaps a root veg mash. I imagine that in Nigeria they’d serve it with foofoo, which is what made me think of a root veg mash.
Cinque, I’ve finished making the Nigerian Bean stew with a few alterations.
I also added:
a finely sliced cooked carrot, a little finely chopped frozen spinach and some chopped roasted peanuts. As I mentioned I also used adzuki beans instead of red kidney.
I haven’t eaten it yet but a have had a taste or three. I’ll have a generous bowl for dinner. I have boiled and potato, carrots and cauliflower and once they are cooled I’ll squeeze out the excess water and puree with a little pepper and butter.
Because I overcooked my beans I added them right at the very end rather than allowing them to simmer any more. This meant that I got to taste the sauce once thickened. It’s really delicious and I can image quite a few uses for it:
– poured over steamed veg – this could even be a FD meal
– used as a casserole base for lamb or chicken
– poured over firm white fish fillets and baked
– baked with eggplant and capsicum
– I can also imagine it as a soup base, thinned out with stock and vegies added.
Thanks Cinque, not only will I make this stew again I really will be using the base sauce in other ways.
I see BBC Food is highlighting some lower cal legume recipes today. They all sound nice although their idea of low cal is not the same as low enough for a FD. However a smaller serve with a green salad would make them fit, or perhaps leave the baked potato out of the butter bean recipe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/5-ingredient_low-cal_dinners
I wish I hadn’t looked at this thread…….
I have so many recipes waiting to be tried and now I’ve found another 😆
The Nigerian bean stew looks interesting,
thanks Cinque.
I would use pinto beans as I’m not fond of kidney beans either. I would also cut the oil to 1tblsp and add some veggies.
Flatbread would be a perfect accompaniment on non FDs 🙂
What a wonderful, thread!! Thanks for starting this, @cinque! Great ideas for fast days xx
On the Southern Hemisphere thread I mentioned adapting a broad bean risotto to barley rather than arborio rice. As there was some interest, I’m posting the recipe below with my changes.
The original recipe is in “Fat Free Italian Cooking” by Anne Sheasby
PANCETTA & BROAD BEAN RISOTTO
2 tsp olive oil
2 golden shallots (eschalot) or 1 onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100g smoked pancetta, finely chopped
500g frozen or fresh shelled broad beans (you can also substitute with shelled edamame beans)
1 3/4 cups of arborio rice (or 1 1/2 cups of barley or pearl barley)
1/4 cup white wine
approx 5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
2 tblsp fresh herbs or 1 1/2 tsp dried – any combination of thyme, oregano, rosemary or parsley (I usually use a combination of dried thyme and fresh parsley)
black pepper
1/4 cup (or more) grated parmesan
Optional: other veg can also be added such as roasted pumpkin/squash, roasted sweet potato, peas, shredded spinach.
In a large pot, heat the oil and gently cook the pancetta, shallot/onion and garlic for 5 minutes until soft but not brown.
Add the barley/rice and stir for a minute. Add some black pepper. If you are using dried herbs add these now. Then add the wine and stir until absorbed.
Add the stock. If using rice it needs to be added 1/2 cup at a time, and stirred frequently. If using the barley I find I can get away with adding 2 cups initially and stirring occasionally then adding the rest 1 cup at a time until I know exactly how much it will absorb. The barely takes longer to cook that rice. Keep it on a very slow simmer. (I think the reason barley requires less stirring is that it released less starch into the stock.)
If your broad beans are very young then they don’t need any further preparation. The larger ones have a tough skin which I prefer to remove. To do this I put them into a bowl and cover with boiling water for 5 minutes. Once drained the outer skin will have turned an unappealing flabby grey. With the help of a small vegetable knife they slip off quite easily. It is worth the effort as the bean hiding inside is green tender and sweet.
Add the broad beans 5 minutes before the risotto is ready. (If using edamame beans they’ll require 15 minutes).
It’s difficult to give a guide to the total simmering time. It’s about 30 minutes for the rice but I find it varies with the barley. It has taken me anywhere from 45-60 minutes to cook it. If unsure just taste a few grain they should be tender but still quite chewy. They will swell a lot during cooking.
When ready to serve add the fresh herbs and parmesan and stir through.
This makes 4-6 serves depending on whether it’s accompanied with a salad. I have frozen and reheated it without problem. If made with barley it’s very filling.
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Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
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