“MOTHER” Barley Risotto

There are base sauces that are used to create other sauces; these sauces are called Mother Sauces. The following recipe is a Mother Barley Risotto, it is a base risotto recipe that you can cook and keep refrigerated and when reheating you can add other ingredients to make different types of risottos.

• 2 cups Chopped Onion
• 2.5 cups Pearled Barley
• 8 cups Vegetable Broth
• 1tbsp Olive Oil

Place a large pot over med high heat, once pot is hot add olive oil and onions. Cook onions until translucent then add barley to pot. Stir for about 1 minute until barley begins to toast and is mixed well with onion.

Turn heat down to med and start adding vegetable stock, 2 cups to start and keep stirring. Once liquid begins to be absorbed by barley add 1 cup of stock and continue to stir. Keep adding 1 cup of stock at a time as liquid is absorbed. Cook for 40 minutes while stirring often until barley is cooked just past al dente.

This will yield 8 cups of “Mother” risotto and we can add other ingredients later to make parmesan, sweet corn and mushroom risotto. Each cup of this risotto contains 6.8g protein, 52.8g of carbs and 2.5g of carbs.

.6 of a cup of “mother” risotto contains 4.1g protein 31.7g carbs and 1.5g fat. (156.7 cals)

To make parmesan risotto, place small sauce pan over med high heat and add a couple tablespoons of water to pan and add .6 of a cup of “mother” risotto. Once risotto starts to bubble add ½ clove minced garlic, 1 tbsp low fat parmesan cheese and 1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley , you can add more water to make it looser if need be.

The nutritional info for this portion of parmesan risotto is 11.1g protein, 32.7g carbs and 4g fat. (211.2 cals)

To make sweet corn risotto, place small sauce pan over med high heat and add a couple tablespoons of water to pan and add .6 of a cup of “mother” risotto. Once risotto starts to bubble add 2 tbsp creamed sweet corn. You can add more water to make it looser.

The nutritional info for this portion of sweet corn risotto is 4.1g protein, 35.2g carbs and 1.5g fat. (170.7 cals)

To make mushroom risotto, place small sauce pan over med high heat and add a couple tablespoons of “mushroom” water (mushroom water is made by soaking dried mushrooms and retaining the water) to pan and add .6 of a cup of “mother” risotto. Once risotto is bubbling add ½ clove of garlic, a couple tbsp of sautéed mushrooms or rehydrated dried mushrooms. You can add more mushroom water to loosen risotto.

The nutritional info for this portion of mushroom risotto is 4.1g protein 31.7g carbs and 1.5g fat. (156.7 cals)