Barley beetroot and bondel cheese risotto

I have been eating this recipe for a few times now, incuding today in secret, away from the prying eyes of social media. Hidden beacuse somewhere deep dow I never wanted to share this recipe. It was something of my own. A place od sanctity where I am happy to put down all my guards.THis turnd out to be one such, from the very first day!

This can be a good example of seasonal. As beetroots are very mch in season now.

Barley has been known to mankind since time memorial. In times now, researches have recognised it at as a power grain.Bondel cheese, is a name which has been a part of history of Kolkata for ages now. It is kind of now taht this cheese is enjoying its golden days. 

Let's get down to cooking it now!!

1. 100 gm pearl barley, washed and kept aside. Finely chop 1 medium sized onion and mince 3 fat cloves of garlic, as finely as possible.
2. Preheat oven to 200C
3. 270 gm beetroot ( about 2 medium size), whole washed & scrubbed clean. Place them in an aluminkum foil, top with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp olive oil. Wrap them tightly. Bake them for 40 mins at 200C. Reduce the temp to 175, continue baking for 10 mins.
4. Once they come out of the oven, allow them to rest for 10 mins, or till slighlty cooled for working with it.
5. Once they have cooled enough for you to handle, peel the skin, chop of the head and tail. Grate them finely, about 3/4th of the total, slice the rest thinly.
6. Fry some chopped ham in tiny bit of oil in a wide surface pan. As they turn crisp and have given out their fat, scoop them out. 
7. To the same oil in the same pan add about 1 tbsp of unsalted butter. Once froathy, add in the onions with a pinch of salt. Fry on medium low heat. As they turn translucent, time to add the chopped garlic.
8. In another pan pour in 450 ml vegetable stock. Place it on the lowest heat possible. We intend to keep it warm and not boiling.
9. Once the raw smell of garlic disappears, bung in the barley. Be patient and saute it well with the contents of the pan. This step is important.
10. Once you witness every grain glistening with the moisturisation, start adding in stock. 1 ladle at a time, no more no less. Keep stirring the barley and the stock mix.
11. Once allmost all the liquid  from the pan evaporates, add in another ladle. Stir and wait till the loquid gets evaporated. Follow this till all the liquid gets absorbed. 
12. Add in 3 smoked bondel cheese crumbled at this stage to the pan along with 1/2 tsp black pepper powder, freshly crushed if possible. Mix.
13. Time to add in the grated betroot. Mix. In no time the contents of the pan, every grain of barley will take in the beautiful crimson shade of betroot. 1 tbsp of unsalted butter is to be mixed for lustre.
14. Ladle it out on the serving platter. Work quickly now. Top it with the sliced betroot, some shavings of aged parmesan, dill fronds and the fried bits of crisp ham. 
15. 1 tsp of extra olive oil drizzled on top for added umami.
16. Eat it hot. Steaming hot. Do not stop to take images. 

I do agree this might tire your hands quite aa bit. The textbooks of childhood have proclaimed" no pain no gain". I think of the beauty of balanced flavours while going through this. The stirring job will take about 20 mins, I presume. Mine took that much. yes, there is no other source of heat other than the black pepper. it is for that same reason I stress on the freshly grated ones, and not the packaged.

Time for some finer points:

• VEG IT: the easiest way dear friends is to forget you heard the name ham written here. With no ham this is absolutely shakahari or vegetarian. I can see you all smile
• For a more mellower version, us ethe spring onion whites in place of onions. 
• I insist on unsalted butter because for a lazy man like moi, balance comes in easy. With the cheese nd the ham, salted butter might be a bit too much.
• Bondel cheese, I am well aware isn't widely available. Use Feta cheese should that be the case.

Do give this a try. I hve a feeling you will thank me later. Shall wait to know about your adventure story into the crimson land. Tadaaaaaaaaaa!