Risotto gets a healthy makeover for autumn with pumpkin and both barley and cauliflower rice stepping in to replace the white rice. Delightfully creamy and cheesy, with a bit of chewiness from the barley and a light hint of sweet pumpkin and sage, you’ll love this savory, heart healthy dish.
I hope you’re not tired of pumpkin yet! Yeah, I know it’s December … and December hardly qualifies as “autumn” (at least where I live), but I’m still stuck in pumpkin land. I feel like I’ve got boatloads of squash, which really is quite perfect for winter, but we typically think of squash as an “autumn” thing. In fact, I’d already put away my little smiley pumpkin guy who loves to find his way into the background of my pumpkin recipes, but needed to pull him back out because I’m not quite finished with pumpkin season yet.
Well, my little pumpkin, you’re going to get to make a few more appearances because I’m not at all done with pumpkin yet. I still have plans to make pumpkin black bean soup, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread … and who knows what else will pop into my crazy little head? I wake up sometimes at 2 am with a “great idea” for a recipe. And then I have to google it to see what other people have done along those lines. Sometimes I settle on tweaking someone else’s recipe for a base … sometimes I take my own path and embark on my own culinary creation.
This particular dish was one of the latter. I’ve been fascinated with the savory side of pumpkin this season and I adore risotto, but in order to add more fiber to the dish, I used barley in place of rice. You might think this is sacrilege, but no, in Italy they do make a barley version of risotto. They might not mix it with cauliflower rice, but hey, you know, (at least in my kitchen) there are no hard and fast rules in cooking. It’s okay to be creative and to mix and match. That’s just how I roll.
I was initially going for chunks of pumpkin in my barley risotto, but halfway through the eating of my pumpkin orzetto I decided that I really didn’t want my pumpkin to be chunks anymore, so I stuck it in my little Ninja and blended it up. I think if the pumpkin was softer, that would just happen naturally. My pumpkin was still a little firm. Next time I think I want it softer so it just disappears and becomes part of the creamy sauce.
You can enjoy this savory pumpkin risotto on its own or alongside chicken, pork or fish … or, I’ve also made a mushroom and bay scallop ragout to pour over top. That was QUITE lovely and something I really need to repeat, especially since I inhaled it too quickly to take pictures. Good thing I still have risotto left.
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Pumpkin White Cheddar Orzetto (Barley Risotto)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: About 4 1/2 cups (roughly 9 servings) 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Risotto gets a healthy makeover for autumn with pumpkin, barley, and cauliflower rice stepping in to replace the white rice. Both creamy and cheesy, with a bit of chewiness from the barley and a light hint of pumpkin and sage, you’ll love this savory, heart healthy dish.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 1/2 cup barley
- 1 onion, peeled & chopped
- 3 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes (or chipotle)
- 2 cups cauliflower rice
- 2 cups cooked pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into small cubes
- 2 – 3 oz. shredded white cheddar cheese
- 2 – 3 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
Instructions
- Heat 3 cups water in a teapot or electric kettle.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter or oil, then the barley. Cook uncovered for several minutes, stirring frequently, until the barley is toasted and light brown in color.
- Add the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes longer, until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the sherry, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed. Add 1/4 cup hot water and cook until that liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process of adding water, stirring until it’s absorbed, then repeating again for 15 – 20 minutes.
- At this point it’s time to take a rest and let the barley cook the rest of the way. Stir in 1/2 cup hot water, reduce heat to medium low and let cook for 10 – 20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes to see if the barley is done and if there is still liquid in the pan. If needed, add 1/4 cup hot water, cover again and continue cooking until the barley is chewy.
- Stir in the cauliflower rice and pumpkin and cook for about 5 minutes, until the cauliflower rice is crisp tender. Add the cheeses and sage, stirring until the cheeses have melted into the barley risotto. Taste and add salt and/or freshly ground pepper if needed.
- Enjoy hot with a little extra shredded cheese on top and fresh sage leaves for garnish, if desired.
Notes
Prep and cooking time do not include time for cooking the pumpkin.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 120
- Fat: 5.4g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6g
- Carbohydrates: 13.3g
- Fiber: 2.9g
- Protein: 4.1g
Nutrition facts are calculated based on ingredients using Neufchatel and butternut squash. Any variation on the ingredients will affect the nutrition facts.
3 comments
This sounds amazing! I love barley and never thought to use it in a risotto dish. Thank you for sharing!
This is the first barely risotto verion I have come across, love all the ingredients you used, Ann, sounds delicious!
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