Barley Risotto

Spring is still coming. It has to be. In the meantime, I'm still on a lemon and asparagus kick. Along with a I'm-still-resigned-that-winter's-here-so-I'm-going-to-make-soup kick. I guess the 10 inches of snow we got is melting quickly at least. I bought strawberries today anyway. Still tasty!

Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Lemon

Serves 6-8
1 T oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 c pearl barley
1/2 c white wine
4-5 cups vegetable broth
juice and zest from 1 lemon
3 cups asparagus, chopped
1-2 c parmasean cheese, divided.

Directions:
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
Saute onion and garlic until soft.
Add barley. Heat about 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
Stir in wine. Keep heating until it's evaporated.
Stir in most of the veggie broth (4-4 1/2 cups) and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
Cover pan, and reduce heat. Simmer for 20ish minutes.
Stir in asparagus, zest and half the cheese.
Heat, covered, for another 5 minutes. If dry, add more broth as needed.
Add the rest of the cheese. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info for 8 servings:
Calories - 226
Fat - 3.6g
Cholesterol - 11mg
Sodium - 200mg
Potassium - 200mg
Carbs - 41g
Fiber - 9g
Sugars - 2.5g
Protein - 10.5g
Vitamin A - 15%
Vitamin C - 21%
Calcium - 20%
Iron - 14%

I enjoyed it with some leftover wine, and a yogurt parfait with strawberries and pineapple.