• 35-50g pearl barley per person (big eaters use 50g)
  
• 600ml vegetable stock (or concentrate and water)
  
• bay leaf
  
• small pumpkin or medium butternut or 2-3 sweet potatoes or something that mashes well
  
• knob vegan margarine or 1 tablespoon oil for mashing (e.g. pumpkin seed oil)
  
• variations:
  
• add a chopped carrot to the stock
  
• add cooked spinach or baby leaf spinach just before stirring in the mashed vegetable
  
• add sautéed mushrooms
  
• add garlic
  
• add whatever you have in the fridge or store cupboard
  
• throw in some seeds e.g. pumpkin, sunflower, pine nuts etc
  

Wash the barley and put into a large
non-stick pan with the bay leaf and the
stock. Cover and bring to the boil,
then reduce heat, and simmer uncovered
for approx 35-40 mins, stirring
occasionally, until the barley is
swollen and the stock is absorbed.
While the barley is cooking, peel your
vegetable of choice, and cut into small
cubes. Steam (or boil) until quite
tender, then mash or puree with the
vegan margarine/oil. Remove the bay leaf and
stir the mashed vegetable into the
barley. If adding mushrooms put them in
now and you will get a delicious mixture
of flavours. Eat while hot (but it
tastes great cold the next day.)

This is a really cheap and
filling dish and can be adapted
endlessly. It takes no time to get on
the go, and you can happily leave it to
cook, unlike all the stirring in a
normal rice risotto. It can also be
quite nutritious, barley is a good
alternative to too much wheat, and if
you use pumpkin seed oil, you're looking
after your essential fatty acid intake too.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation time: 45 mins cooking