Spring vegetable barley risotto

I adore broad beans. I always double pod them (take out  of furry pod and then remove the layer of greyish skin). It takes ages but is a complete labour of love and reveals a beautiful sparkly bright green bean underneath. This was a dish that I whipped up to use some broad beans and fresh peas I’d picked up without any real plans for. It ended up a really nice fresh summery dish.

1 cup pearl barley
1 cup peas
1 cup podded broad beans
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Splash white wine
1 spring onion, finely chopped, including all green part
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Squeeze of lemon juice
Toasted pine nuts

Probably serves 3 people but served me twice!

Cook the pearl barley in vegetable stock until soft – it took about 35 minutes but seems to vary a lot so just keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, cook the onion and garlic in a mix of vegan butter and olive oil and cook the beans and peas in boiling water for just a few minutes until tender. Add a splash of wine to the onions and cook for a few minutes. Drain the barley and vegetables and mix together with the onion and garlic mix. Finally add the chopped spring onion, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and stir all together. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts and serve.

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