I started clicking around my blog and quickly stumbled upon my butternut squash and wheat berry mock risotto. I loved that recipe! It was a huge hit in our house with both me and Ryan and I figured I could play around with different vegetables and come up with another wheat berry mock risotto dish for dinner this evening.
Wheat berries are much chewier than rice and I love the texture they add to a creamy dish like this mock risotto.
I decided to use an onion, mushrooms and spinach to add flavor and nutritional value to the meal and it turned out fantastic!
Mushroom and Spinach Wheat Berry Mock Risotto
Serves: 3
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 1 1/4 cups Portobello mushrooms, chopped (about 4 ounces)
- 1 cup uncooked wheat berries
- 1 (14-ounce) can reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 8 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 links cooked chicken apple sausage, sliced (optional)
Directions:
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
- Add onion; cook 10 minutes or until tender and golden, stirring occasionally
- Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally
- Add wheat berries; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
- Add broth; bring to a boil
- Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Uncover, add parmesan cheese and chicken sausage, stir
- Add spinach, stir until spinach wilts and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until liquid is absorbed
This dish can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth and omitting the chicken sausage. Such a yummy meal!
Other risotto-inspired recipes that have popped up on PBF:
- Cauliflower and Eggplant Barley Risotto
- Shrimp and Zucchini Barley Risotto
- Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Barley Risotto
- Butternut Squash and Wheat Berry Mock Risotto
After dinner, Ryan and I took Sadie on a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood before coming home to watch Jeopardy. I miss the college tournament on Jeopardy! I was killin’ it when the college kids were on last week and was humbled yet again this evening when the questions returned to their normal level of difficulty. C’mon, Alex!
Hoping to cram in some reading before The Bachelor starts. Home town dates tonight!
Hm, this sounds good. I’m not really a pasta girl but every now and then a simply risotto sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Danielle
I’m so pumped for hometown dates! This is my first Bachelor experience, so I’m new to it all. My husband and I are loving it though! I was so shocked about Emily last week. She was my fave. I think I’m pulling for Kacie now, since her hometown is pretty close to mine in TN. We’ll see! Do you have a favorite??
Catherine
i liked emily, too! my favorite now is probably kacie b., but i think nicki seems like a sweet girl as well. blehhh to courtney!
peanutbutterfingers
Yeah I like nicki too. I checked out Courtney’s modeling home page the other day (http://www.courtneyrobertson.com/Site/Home.html) and now I think she’s even more blehhh!
Catherine
This looks so GOOD! I can’t wait to try it!!!
Lauren Paradis
This looks so yummy! I saw wheat berries in the organic aisle of the supermarket and wanted to buy them, but decided to hold off until I know what to make with them. This looks like a winner!
Sylvia @ Frolic Through Life
oh man, i’m terrible at jeapordy. haha! i can’t wait to watch the bachelor tomorrow (i watch it online)… i really hope ben’s eyes are opened after visiting courtney’s family! :/
Ashley @ My Food ‘N’ Fitness Diaries
Ooh, that recipe looks delicious! I’ve been wanting to try out wheat berries – this might be my first attempt. And I’m with you on the college Jeopardy (or even high school, haha); I feel much smarter when I watch those episodes!
Stephanie @ Legally Blinde
Oooh, nice photo there, Julie! I’m always so impressed with your food-on-a-fork photos.
Recipe looks yummy!
Julie
Gosh, that looks delicious! And very easy, as well!
I cannot WAIT to see who goes home tonight!!!!
HRCK the Herald
What about trying to cook food items you have never made before? Have you cooked Indian food?
idk it could be fun for you and ryan to do together!
Sana
do you have any “first timer” dish recommendations? i’d love to try but i’m a little intimidated!
peanutbutterfingers
I don’t blame you!!! Try this,http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/ChanaMasala.htm
and I think you can find most things at a local grocery store?
And I would let the chickpeas simmer a bit longer, you want them to be tender when you eat them.
Good luck!
Sana
Orrrr my all time fav, naan pizza. Kinda like this one:http://www.supersana.com/2010/11/14/yesterday-and-today/
I want one now and it’s only 8:31am!
Sana
Haha I’m the same way with Jeopardy. I also get frustrated when watching with my husband because he always answers faster than I do!!
His brain registers much faster than mine!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated
I do the same thing – I love using my blog as inspiration for recipes whenever I’m in a rut. It always reminds me of fantastic recipes that I may have forgotten.
Lauren @ Chocolate, Cheese and Wine
i am so glad you share the same excitement i have for the bachelor haha. my two favorites were eliminated last week – emily and rachel (i think rachel was my #1..so sweet, smart and pretty! what was he thinking?!?!). tonight should be interesting haha
Mallory @ Have your cake And Eat It
This looks delicious!! LOVE the mushrooms, looks so hearty. Hope you had a great holiday!
Chelsea @ Naturally Sweet Recipes
yum. love both wheat berries and risotto, so i’m sure this would be delicious!
kathleen @ the daily crumb
Look at you go! I always forget to make old recipes – seriously, I make them once, post the recipe, and move on. I feel like I need stop that!!!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey
I’m watching the Bachelor right now and I saw that they are in Ocala – must be fun to watch your own hometown on the bachelor! Also, my dog is having a ball barking at all the horses
Caroline
So excited about this recipe!! I love love love your butternut squash mock risotto so I’m of course excited for another variety that, once again, incorporates some of my favorite veggies!
Jamie @ Don’t Forget the Cinnamon
i love that you watch Jeopardy, too! I miss the college tournament as well. Although, I guessed a final jeopardy correctly last week during one of the teacher tournament shows and was pretty proud of myself
that rarely happens!
Your dinner looks yummy! I have some wheat berries just chillin’ in my pantry…that would be a great way to use them!
Angela
This looks so yummy – I still have to try wheat berries, they look good!
Heidi @ Idlehide
Looks great! Do they sell wheat berries in the normal grocery store or do you have to go to a specialty store?
Kristen R
i think i got them at whole foods. i’ve had them stored in a jar for a long time now!
peanutbutterfingers
I used to always try so hard to answer the questions on Jeopardy and always ended up sucking so bad. So to regain a little confidence, since I believe I’m a fairly intelligent woman, I just stopped watching! lol
I know how busy you’ve been lately but I have to admit, I was so happy to see 3 posts from you today woo hoo!!
Bridgette
Yum!! This looks absolutely amazingggg.
Nicole @ Giraffelegs
That looks so amazing! Great idea!
Kerry @ Totes My Oats
Ohh, nice! I love how you tell us to make this vegetarian. So nice of you!
Also, random, but I thought of you tonight while watching The Bachelor because one of the girls is from Ocala. She rides horses obvs
It’s Lindsay…
Sneakers2Sandals
I love how intricate this looks and yet how easy it is to make. I totally need to try this! Do you think I could substitute white beans for the sausage?
Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie
definitely! sounds like a great idea to me.
peanutbutterfingers
How funny! Just yesterday I was thinking about your butternut squash risottos and how much I’ve been wanting to try them. Now I really want some lol.
Ellie@Fit for the Soul
Jeopardy makes me feel so dumb lol!
Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed
This sounds yummy- I’ve never tried wheat berry but it looks kinda like pearl barley?….or am I completely off?
Khushboo Thadani
the texture/taste is actually pretty similar!
peanutbutterfingers
I geek out and can rock regular jeopardy. Its quite pathetic how much of a dork i am! I’m loving the creativity with wheatberries! So I am also a Quinoa Freak, and was curious about how Wheat berries compare in cooking time. I have found when you put Quinoa in the rice cooker and “set it and forget it” it turns out great. I’m wondering if wheat berries would fare the same. I might just have to try it this week.
Raquel @ Toned, Tan, Fit & Techie
I’d also like to add, (I’m going to sound like the creepy stalker now), that since I have recently started my blog, I have decided to post the bloggers quintessential “Friday Favorites” and decided on a category called “Favorite Blog Dog”…guess who was the inaugural favorite?
Raquel @ Toned, Tan, Fit & Techie
aw, thank you, raquel! sadie is honored!
peanutbutterfingers
Wow, I think you just combined my three favorite foods into one spectacular recipe. Definitely going on the rotation for next week!
Emilia
That looks like an awesome and hearty dinner!
Healthiful Balance
Looks so good!! Yum
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes
I love risotto! It’s such a time consuming process though. I’ve never had wheat berries before. Must try them! This looks great
Hope @ With A Side Of Hope
This looks deeeelicious! One of my favorite meals is a barley and shrimp risotto that you made sometime ago. I don’t even remember when because now I just make it all the time. It’s so good! Now i must try this one
Brittany @ Healthy Slice
Never tried wheat berries, looks yum! I wonder how the butternut squash recipe will go over with the hubbs lol…he might just wonder where the meat is
Roz @ Fit Blogging for Fun, Family & Profit
This recipe looks GREAT! I’ve never used wheatberries before but I love everything in this recipe. A question — did you soak your wheatberries before using, and do you recommend red or white?
corkscrew
I made this for dinner and it was delicious! I used kale instead of spinach and muenster instead of parmesean because that’s all I had, and omitted the chicken sausage, and it still turned out great!
Justeen @ Blissful Baking
I just made this recipe and this is so so good!! I had never had wheatberry before and I really liked it. Keep the great/creative Recipes coming!
Jeannie
I’m new to your blog and absolutely adore it! I tried this recipe for dinner tonight and loved it! I’ve never had wheat berries before and they were still pretty firm when I ate them, is that normal, or did I not cook them long enough?
Amanda