Risotto Style Barley

I bought a huge bag of barley from an Asian food market last week. I went to make it and all the directions were in Japanese! So I searched on the Internet a little and found out how to cook the stuff. Barley is high in Vitamin B6, Thiamin, Niacin, Riboflavin and Folate. One cup cooked is about 190 calories and 10 grams of protein. I can eat about a half a cup with dinner. *Note 1 cup dry makes 3 cups cooked*

• 1 cup regular barley (not pearl barley) drained with cold water




• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth




• 1/4 cup white wine (you can leave this out, but it makes the flavor awesome)




• 1 Tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes




• 1 teaspoon black pepper




• 1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese




• 1/2 cup frozen vegetable of your choice (I used frozen peas, but this would be really good with cup up mushrooms, asparagus, or peppers.

Add first 5 ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. After you get a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium-low heat, and cover with a lid, stirring occasionally for 30-35 minutes. The barley will be done when all the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and add in parm cheese and frozen vegetables. The heat from the barley will melt the cheese and heat up the vegetables. This is so yummy and tastes like a fancy risotto at a nice restaurant.