Winter Citrus Barley Risotto
december 23, 2015

It's winter, so our CSA boxes are packed with citrus: oranges, lemons, grapefruit, to name just a few. Most varieties are great for juicing, salads and main courses, too, like risotto! I never would have guessed that barley and citrus make beautiful dinner together, but they do, especially when paired with other winter superstars like arugula, walnuts, barley and chicken stock.

Eating seasonal, local food means a lot to me, in part because truly fresh produce that hasn't sat for lengthy airplane or ship journeys just tastes better. The same goes for pantry staples with naturally long shelf lives that don't require artificial preservatives. I'm sure glad I live where winter salad and fruit are available and affordable!

Sorry East Coast, I have a feeling your winters are less delicious. Though it's true, my family and I have been relying on a lot of more traditional cold weather winter fare lately, like puréed root vegetables and slow cooked meat. Those shouldn't be a problem when you live in the snow.

This recipe is on p. 68 of Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking, and a similar one (without oranges) is here on her blog. 

If your kids, like mine, aren't interested in barley risotto for dinner, then let them make their own sandwiches. We always have PB&J, cream cheese and occasionally salami on hand, just to make sure nobody goes to bed hungry.