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Chicken and Vegetable Barley Risotto

Barley cooked risotto-style so it releases its starch and thickens the pot, with chicken and plenty of vegetables.

Chicken and Vegetable Barley Risotto. Barley cooked risotto-style so it releases its starch and thickens the pot, with chicken and plenty of vegetables.
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Prep 15 minCook 50 minServes 4

Ingredients

Why metric?

Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements

  • 500 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 240 g pearl barley (dry), rinsed
  • 300 g mushrooms, sliced
  • 200 g carrot, diced
  • 1 onion, chopped (150 g)
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped (15 g)
  • 1.3 litres reduced-salt chicken stock (1300 g)
  • 150 g baby spinach
  • 35 ml extra-virgin olive oil (32 g)
  • 50 g parmesan, finely grated
  • 20 ml lemon juice (20 g)
  • 1.5 g iodised table salt
  • Ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Warm half the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat and brown the chicken in two batches, 4 minutes each. Crowding the pan steams it. Set it aside.
  2. Add the rest of the oil with the mushrooms and cook 8 minutes over high heat, until they have browned. Then the onion and carrot for 8 minutes, and the garlic for a minute.
  3. Add the barley and stir it for a minute, then return the chicken with the stock and salt.
  4. Simmer 40-45 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the barley has split and the pot has thickened around it. Add water if it tightens before the barley is ready.
  5. Fold the spinach through until it wilts, then beat in the parmesan and lemon juice off the heat. Grind pepper over.

Safety and storage

Cook to
74°C / 165°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
3 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 60°C

The table gives poultry cuts as 74°C. Minced poultry is taken to the same temperature rather than the 71°C mince figure, because mincing spreads surface bacteria through the whole mass. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.

Cool and cover within two hours of cooking; split large amounts into shallow containers so they chill quickly. Reheat until steaming hot, at least 60°C.

Where these temperatures come from