Out of the rut: Barley risotto with spinach and sweet potatoes

New baked goods are a regular occurrence in our house, but when it comes to dinner, I get stuck in a rut so fast. Try as I might, I just don’t get as excited about savory dishes as I do about sugar. Or butter. Or whipped cream. You get the idea.

I know, I know. A family cannot subsist on dessert alone, and I promise we’re fairly moderated in our consumption even when the oven triumphantly produces four new cookies in a week. Despite my fallback habits for the evening meal, we still eat fun things. We just tend to eat the same fun things over and over again, assuming that they’re relatively quick and easy. Weeknights are bananas sometimes.

Which brings us to this meal. Risotto is a favorite across the board for us (this spinach and mushroom risotto is our favorite among favorites!), but it takes so long. And it’s not just that it takes so long; it takes a lot of hands-on time — hands that are in high demand for puppy feeding and baby chasing and other miscellaneous hullaballoo come 6 p.m.

But this one is so easy! With barley instead of Arborio rice, this dish is not only handily finished off in the oven (woo hoo!), but it’s also healthy. I dare say it’s pretty foolproof, too, and tastes just as creamy and satisfying as the stuff that takes an hour over the stovetop to prepare. Now just think of all the cookie dough you can whip up with your hands free for those 40 minutes of baking! 

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Barley Risotto with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Real Simple

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 onion, chopped
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup pearl barley
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (I used vegetable broth, but either works.)
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 6 ounces fresh baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a Dutch oven or large oven-proof saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, sweet potatoes, salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion begins to soften. Stir often to keep things from burning.

Add the barley, and cook for another minute, this time stirring constantly. Add the wine, and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the broth, and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot, and transfer it to the oven to bake until the barley is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes (Note: The first time I made this, I used quick-cooking barley instead of pearl barley. It was good but definitely already a little past done after only 25 minutes. If you’d prefer to use quick-cooking barley for a faster meal, make sure you give your sweet potatoes a little more time in the sautéing stage so they’ll be tender after about 10 to 15 minutes in the oven.)

Stir in the butter and Parmesan, then stir in the spinach. Serve with an extra happy sprinkling of Parmesan.

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I’m planning to try out a spinach and mushroom version of the barley risotto over the weekend to see how it compares to our beloved favorite. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Happy weekend to you!

XO,
Katrina