I don’t know if this is officially a word but I thought, risotto is with rice so with pearl barley we can make ‘Barlotto’! So if it wasn’t a thing, it is now.

Serves 4 hungry humans

Ingredients:
2 Leeks
200g Pearl Barley
2 Lemongrass stalks
1 Handful of Purple broccoli sprouts – standard broccoli works fine too of course
1 Handful of fresh or frozen Peas
1 Red and 1 yellow pepper
1 Carrot
1 Ginger stem
3 Tablespoons of Coconut oil
1 pinch Himalayan salt
1 Lemon’s juice
Lots of black pepper

How:
Chop all the vegetables (leeks side ways, carrot and peppers long way, for aesthetic purposes mainly.)
Chop the lemongrass as small as you can
Grate the ginger

Gently fry the ginger and the lemongrass for 3 minutes in the coconut oil.
Add the leeks and fry for 5 minutes or until they start to soften.
Add the chopped carrot, peppers, broccoli sprouts and peas.
Cover with the lid and leave to simmer between 5-10minutes, I like my veggies not too cooked but you can try a carrot to make sure they’re not too firm either.

Cook the pearl barley separately, following instructions on pack as cooking time might vary but I started cooking mine when I started frying the veggies and they were done at the same time 🙂

Once both barley and veggies are cooked, add the barley to the veggies (not the other way around, this is important.)
Add the salt and pepper (I always add salt at the end as I think you can taste it more and you are less likely to over salt.)
Last but not least, squeeze your lemon on top.

Et voila, a colourful, nutritious and delicious vegan recipe.

Bon appetit!