Baked Fennel with Pearl Barley Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 Shallot
• 50 g butter
• 100 g pearl barley
• Salt
• 50 ml white wine
• 100 g fresh spinach
• 200 g feta (45% fat in total)
• a pinch of black pepper (from the mill)
• a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp mild curry powder
• 0.5 lemon (juice)
• Salt
• 2 fennel bulbs (≈200 g each)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 170 °C fan.

2. 2.

   For the pearl barley risotto, peel and finely chop the shallot. Heat a pot over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the shallots for about 2–3 minutes.

3. 3.

   Add the pearl barley, increase the heat, season with a little salt, deglaze with white wine and reduce until the alcohol evaporates. Then add 400 ml water, bring to a boil and simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

4. 4.

   Meanwhile, mix olive oil, paprika, curry powder, lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Clean the fennel bulbs, trim the core and slice them lengthwise into ~2 cm thick rounds. Toss the slices in the seasoning mixture and let sit for about 5 minutes.

5. 5.

   Place the fennel slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

6. 6.

   In the meantime wash the spinach, drain it, crumble half of the feta and add both to the pearl barley. Season with pepper and nutmeg.

7. 7.

   Remove the baking sheet from the oven, raise the temperature to 200 °C. Spread the risotto over the fennel slices. Sprinkle the remaining feta on top and bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese turns golden brown.

8. 8.

   Take out, arrange on two plates and serve.