Recipe: Seafood Barley "Risotto"

Recipe Source: Piras, Claudia.  Culinaria Italy.  H. F. Ullmann, 2007, p. 21

This recipe isn't like other risotto recipes I've made.  Well, in some ways it is.  I mean, I've subbed barley for Arborio rice lots of times.  I did it again here, because I really wanted more nutritional value and fiber than white rice usually affords.  What's the difference here?  No vegetables.  I looked at the recipe, and I looked at it again, and no, there were no vegetables in this dish.  Still, it was certainly a delicious dish, and you should absolutely make it sometime.  I didn't make a whole lot of changes.  I increased the amount of garlic and I used Lemony Vegetable Broth for the vegetable broth called for in the recipe.  Oh - the store where I shopped that day was distinctly lacking in squid, so I used scallops. 

Seafood Barley "Risotto" (serves 4; approx. $4.28/serving)

1/2 lb sea scallops

1/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 lb mussels, scrubbed

1 cup white wine

1 3/4 cups pearled barley

3 cups (approx.) Lemony Vegetable Broth

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Ladle
• Slotted spoon or skimmer

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan. 
2. Add the shrimp, scallops, garlic and parsley.  Saute briefly.
3. Use the slotted spoon to evacuate the seafood to a plate.  Set aside. 
4. Add the mussels to the pan.  Cook until the shells have completely opened. 
5. Evacuate the mussels from the saucepan and set aside.
6. Add the barley to the pan.  Stir to coat well with the pan juices.
7. Add the wine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer.
8. Add some broth, a ladleful at a time.  Stir until the broth is absorbed by the barley.  Repeat as necessary until the barley is tender.
9. Return the seafood to the pan and heat thoroughly. 
10. Serve.