Pea, Feta and Barley Risotto
Precooked pearl barley rehydrated at camp, with freeze-dried peas and feta stirred in at the end.
- calories
- 680
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 136
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Cooked and dehydrated pearl barley | 3/4 cup | cook at home in stock, then dry flat |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried peas | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried leek, onion and fennel | 3 tbsp total | sliced thin before drying or it stays crunchy |
| Dried zucchini and broccoli | 2 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried feta | 1 oz | |
| Ghee | 1 tbsp | in a small screw-top tub |
| Bouillon powder | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried lemon zest | 1/2 tsp | |
| Saffron | a pinch | optional, mostly for color |
| Dried basil | 1/2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Tip everything except the feta and ghee into the pot. Add 400 ml water and stir once.
- Bring to a boil, then hold it at a low simmer for four minutes. Stir often, the barley wants to stick.
- Cut the heat, lid on, and leave it ten minutes. The dried vegetables need that time more than the barley does.
- Stir in the ghee, then the feta. Let it sit one more minute so the cheese softens.
- If it is still soupy, uncover and let it stand. It thickens as it cools.
Real risotto needs twenty minutes of stirring and a pot of simmering stock, neither of which is a reasonable ask on a stove burning fuel you carried. So the barley gets cooked at home in stock and dried flat, which means camp is only rehydration. Pearl barley survives that better than rice does. It holds its shape and comes back with some chew instead of turning to paste.
The feta is the reason this reads as a meal rather than grain and water. Freeze-dried feta is roughly a quarter protein and a quarter fat, and it rehydrates in seconds, so it goes in off the heat where it will not turn rubbery. Ghee does the rest of the work: it is shelf-stable without a cooler, and it carries the lemon and saffron through the whole pot the way butter would at home.
Packing
Dry ingredients ride in one bag, feta in its own small bag, ghee in a tub. Feta crumbs will glue themselves to barley if you pack them together.
Variations
- Freeze-dried edamame in place of the peas pushes protein up by about 8 g.
- Leave out the feta and ghee, double the lemon zest, and add a tablespoon of olive oil. That version is vegan.
- A splash of white wine vinegar powder stands in for the wine used at home.
https://slowerhiking.com/slower-hiking-recipes-part-2/dehydrated-pea-feta-and-edamame-risotto