Black and White Risotto

Ingredients

1 cup black barley that has been parboiled for 45 minutes (until tender)
One-half cup hot vegetable broth

Instructions

Make the recipe for the Plain Risotto before adding the Parmesan cheese and parsley. Add the additional broth, gently fold in the black barley and simmer until broth has been absorbed. Fold in the Parmesan cheese and the parsley.

*You may want to make extra, left over risotto makes a wonderful peasant lunch. In a round skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add your cold leftover risotto and press it down in the pan. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. When done invert on a serving plate, cut into pie-shaped pieces, serve with a big tossed green salad.

I also found that the black barley made my recipe for rice pilaf far more interesting. Again, I parboiled the black barley to keep it from bleeding into the other ingredients.

Makes 6 servings