Roasted Root Veg and Barley Risotto

Ingredients

Cooks in:45 minutes (mostly unattended)        Serves:4

For the Roasted Vegetables

• 1 cup McCain frozen pumpkin chunks  
• 1 cup McCain frozen sweet potato chunks
• 1 medium red onion, cut into eighths
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs

For the Risotto

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small white onion, diced    
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup white wine (optional, otherwise use extra stock)
• 1 cup pearled barley, rinsed 
• 3-4 cups good quality chicken or vegetable stock

To Serve

• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or hard cheese of your choice), plus extra for garnishing
• 100g soft goats cheese or gorgonzola cheese
• ½ cup roughly chopped hazelnuts, toasted
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh parsley, roughly chopped, for garnishing (or oregano)

What to do

1. Pre-heat oven to 190C.

2. Add the roasting vegetables to a shallow roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil, add in the herbs and roast until cooked through and golden, about 45 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, add another dash of olive oil to a large heavy-basedsaucepanover medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 10 minutes, or until the onions have softened.

4. Add the barley and stir until well coated in any remaining oil and butter. Addthe wine and stir for about 5 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.

5. Add the stock and leave to simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed and the barley is cooked through and creamy. Add a little extra stock along the way if necessary. It should be creamy and not too dry.

6. To serve, add most of the grated parmesan into the barley and stir to combine, then spoon some of the barley into serving bowls, layer over the roasted vegetables, a final sprinkling of parmesan, toasted nuts and crumbled cheese and serve immediately.

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