[WATCH] Jerusalem artichoke barley risotto

Watch Sean Gravina make a barley risotto with Jerusalem artichokes

Jerusalem artichoke barley risotto

Ingredients

• 600g Jerusalem artichokes
• 150g pearl barley
• 1.25l chicken stock
• 150g of white wine
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 30g unsalted butter
• 50g olive oil
• Sea salt
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Parsley and peanut pesto

• 225g olive oil
• 100g flat-leaf parsley
• 60g peanuts, skinned and roasted
• 75g Parmesan, grated
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly sliced 

To finish

• 175g goat cheese, crumbled
• 50g mascarpone
• 30g Parmesan, grated
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. To make the pesto, add the parsley and garlic to a blender and blitz to roughly chop.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth - if you would like it chunkier, simply pulse a few times until you reach the desired texture. Store in a jar and refrigerate until required.
3. Preheat the oven to 140°C.
4. Place the Jerusalem artichokes on a baking sheet and sprinkled with coarse salt.
5. Bake for approximately 1 hour, until the artichokes are tender and soft
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little. Cut the artichokes in half, scoop out the pulp and place the skins to one side for deep frying.
7. Chop the pulp coarsely and set aside.
8. Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.
9. In a separate medium saucepan, heat the olive oil, add the onions and garlic and cook without colour until translucent – approximately 4 mins.
10. Add the pearl barley and cook for a further 3 mins.
11. Add the white wine, bring to the boil and cook until the wine has disappeared.
12. Add 1/3 of the stock, stirring continuously, and allow to simmer gently until the stock has almost disappeared and has been fully absorbed by the barley.
13. Once the orzotto is nearly dry, repeat the process twice more with the remaining stock. Bring to a low simmer and cook until the barley is tender with just a little bite, approximately 40 - 50 minutes. Once cooked, raise the temperature and cook quickly to evaporate any remaining liquid.
14. Preheat a deep-fryer or deep saucepan of vegetable oil to 180°C. Deep-fry the reserved Jerusalem artichoke skins in the hot oil for 1 - 2 mins until crisp. Drain, season and keep warm until required.
15. To finish the barley risotto, return to the heat, add the Jerusalem pulp and mix in well. Bring to the boil and add the mascarpone and butter, mixing well. Finally, stir in the Parmesan.
16. Season and check the consistency – if it is too stiff, add a little more stock; if too sloppy, cook for a little while longer.
17. Divide into bowls and crumble a little of the goat's cheese on top.
18. Spoon on some of the pesto, stud with the crispy skins and garnish with land cress before serving.

This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on 2 January, 2015.