Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta Cheese and Roasted Eggplant

Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta Cheese and Roasted Eggplant

This recipe is from the monumental cookbook “Jerusalem” by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi, a book which draws Jerusalem as the capital of delicious food.

The barley risotto is rich – it simmers in stock, tomatoes, garlic, celery, thyme and smoked paprika, and is topped with feta marinated in live oil and dry roasted caraway seeds. I added the eggplant because I feared it would be too plain, but I was wrong – it doesn’t need any help (although the combo of barley, feta, tomatoes and eggplant is heavenly all around)! Topped with chopped homegrown Cuban oregano, and eaten lukewarm… and you’ve got layers and layers of flavor.

In fact, barley with tomatoes could be the base of many creative dishes – I can see it paired with mushrooms, roasted peppers, ground beef, artichokes, chorizo, olives, you name it…

So yeah – Jerusalem: A Cookbook is highly recommended. It also contains the secret to making smooth hummus (pssst: it is baking soda).

Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/barley-risotto-with-marinated-feta-513754