Fermented Barley Risotto Recipe - Great British Chefs

Main
medium
4
60 minutes, plus 4 days to ferment the barley

PT1H

Robin Gill's fermented barley risotto recipe provides a modern twist on a classic. Fermenting the barley for five days adds an extra flavour dimension to the grain, and girolles provide a gorgeous earthy flavour. Once you've mastered the barley base, you can finish the dish with any seasonal vegetables you have to hand.

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Ingredients

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Metric

Imperial

Fermented barley

200g of pearl barley
600ml of water

To make the risotto

75g of unsalted butter
1 dash of sherry vinegar
300ml of brown chicken stock
20g of ricotta, blended until smooth
salt

Girolles

300g of girolles
25g of butter
1 lemon, juiced
flaky sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

To garnish

wild rocket

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Sterilised jar or container
Muslin cloth

Place the barley in a suitable-sized sterilised container and pour the water over the grains. Stir with a clean sterilised spoon, then cover the container with muslin. Keep in a warm part of the kitchen and allow to ferment for 4 days

200g of pearl barley
600ml of water

The barley is now ready to use. It can be stored, in the liquid, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days

Drain the barley, reserving the liquid. Set a suitable-sized pan over a medium-high heat and add 75g of the butter. When it starts to foam, add the barley and cook for about 30 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan every couple of minutes as the barley starts to catch and caramelise, until it is dark and roasted in appearance with a nutty aroma

75g of unsalted butter

Add the vinegar to deglaze the bottom of the pan, stirring and scraping well, then pour in half of the stock and season with a little salt. Turn down to a simmer and cook as you would a risotto: once the first addition of stock has been absorbed, gradually add the remaining stock and some of the reserved water from the barley, stirring the liquid into the grains until absorbed. It should take about 10 minutes for the barley grains to be cooked through and reach a risotto consistency. Adjust the seasoning and stir in the ricotta

1 dash of sherry vinegar
300ml of brown chicken stock
salt
20g of ricotta, blended until smooth

Now cook the mushrooms. Place a frying pan over a high heat and add the butter and 250g of the girolles. Cook for just a couple of minutes or until wilted. Finish with a pinch each of salt and pepper and lemon juice to taste

freshly ground black pepper
250g of girolles
25g of butter
1 lemon, juiced
flaky sea salt

Place a generous spoonful of barley in the bottom of each warm serving bowl and top with the girolles. Finish with the rocket and shave over the remaining raw girolles

wild rocket
50g of girolles

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Robin Gill

Dublin-born Robin Gill has worked under revered chefs such as Marco Pierre White and Raymond Blanc, but his own string of restaurants – The Dairy, Sorella, Counter Culture and Darby's – are relaxed, innovative and very exciting.