Leek, Broadbean & Chicken Barley 'Risotto'

I love risotto, but I have find that white rice is increasingly playing havoc with my belly.  I stopped eating it completely (hello 3 day reflux) when I was pregnant with J and have never really re-introduced it to our regular diet.

With the 12WBT kick off imminent I have been adapting and creating some new <300 calorie meals and I trialled this one on Wednesday with resounding success.  Sebastian declared it a winner (after I fed it to him forkful by forkful, which is often the case with new dishes).  It is a dish that comes in at 309 calories per serve for the option without chicken or 386 calories per serve with the chicken.

Without chicken it is also super super cheap because leeks are in season right now, it's a meal you can easily bring in under $10 for the no chicken option.

The barley is really yummy, nutty like brown rice is, and unlike traditional risotto you don't have to stand and stir, you could even pop it in the slow cooker once you have your leeks cooked down and add your broadbeans just before serving.

Leek, Broadbean & Chicken Barley 'Risotto' - Serves 6

Ingredients

400g Chicken (for calorie boost option)

2 cups pearl barley, washed and soaked at least 4 hours in cold water.

3 Leeks, trimmed, washed well and thinly sliced

300g broad beans, shelled to give about 200g (I just use frozen ones, leave them to thaw before shelling)

2-3 tsp Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Thyme, fresh if you have it but dried is fine

1L homemade or salt reduced chicken stock

To Serve

50g finely grated parmesan cheese (or leave it off to drop the calories down to 279)

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

If you are adding chicken heat 1 tsp olive oil in a heavy based saucepan and cook chicken, turning once.

Heat up your stock either in the microwave or on the stove.

Remove chicken when it is nearly cooked (it will be going back in to the pot later so it is better to leave it slightly under done at this point than cooked right through so it doesn't get tough).

Add a further 1-2 tsp olive oil and cook leeks and garlic until they are nicely softened.  Splash in a bit of stock to help scrape the caramelisation off the bottom of the pan.

Drain your barley and tip it into the saucepan while still wet.  Stir it around and get a bit of toasting action going on.  Throw in some thyme followed by the stock.

Leave it to simmer and bubble about 15-20 minutes until barley is al dente (you could tip everything in the slow cooker at this point).  Stir a few times to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom.

Divide between 6 serving bowls and finish with a sprinkle of finely grated parmesan and a good grind of black better.

Seriously delicious.

What do you think?  Will you be adding it to your weekly meal plan sometime soon?

Tatum xx