Food for thoughts #5

Saffron Barley risotto 

This is the last recipe dedicated to the mental health topic.
We created this alternative risotto using barley, also known by its Italian name: orzo. Barley is an incredible whole grain which is often added to soups and summer salads in Italy. It is full of fibre (10.5g per 100g), minerals such as molybdenum, manganese, selenium and has a lovely nuttier taste compared to rice. If you are allergic or intolerant to gluten, please note that orzo/barley contains it.

The star of this recipe, though, is saffron. This powerful spice, collected manually from the threads of a Mediterranean-Middle Easter flower called Crocus sativus, contains natural anti-depressant properties and can improve cognitive health.
If you are experiencing low mood or mood-swings, anxiety, insomnia… try to eat a whole foods diet, reduce sugar consumption and use more saffron in your recipes.

Saffron can also help improve digestion and calm gastrointestinal complaints, so we thought it was perfect spice for this week’s recipe!
You can add saffron to soups, stews, primi piatti… but you can also have it with some warm lemon water as a comforting and uplifting tea.

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jcim-2015-0043/html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032717315884

Prep Time: 10 minutes 

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
150g dry barley

20ml olive oil

70g leek, chopped

¼ tsp saffron strands

400ml vegetable stock

1 tsp sea salt

1 courgette (about 180g)

a sprinkle of salt

To garnish 

shaved parmesan 

chives

INSTRUCTIONS

1 In a small cup place the saffron strands and pour in about 100 ml of warm water on the top. Leave to soak overnight or at least for two hours. 

2 Wash and finely chop the leek. 

3 Cut the courgette in cubes discarding the ends.

4 In a deep saucepan bring the vegetable stock to a boil. 

5 In a medium saucepan, heat up the olive oil, stir in the chopped leek and half of the courgette. Cook for about 5 minutes until soft . 

6 Spoon in the turmeric powder and cook for 1 minute.

7 Pour in the barley and cook it for about 2 minutes. 

8 Add in the water you previously used to soak the saffron and half of your vegetable stock. Stir continuously until the liquid is fully absorbed. 

9 Season to your taste. 

10 Add in the remaining courgettes and half of the stock left. Keep stirring until it is fully absorbed and pour the remaining water if you need. 

11 Let stand off heat and cover for 5 minutes, then stir and serve.

I like to serve mine with shaved parmesan and chives on the top. 

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About us

Giulia Rocca, is a registered Nutritional Therapist, the founder of Cromo Nutrition.
She has always been very passionate about food and plants; this is probably inherited from her grandfather, who used to teach her how to cook Italian recipes, plant tiny seeds and grow lemon trees in their garden. Her biggest interests are digestive problems, skin conditions, immunity and cognitive health, but she is very happy to listen and help people with any sort of health concerns.

Jennifer Cauli is a professional photographer and writer based in London. She is specialising in food and travel topics. She has worked with restaurants and food businesses around the world. Several of her images and stories have been successfully published with Culture Trip, Suitcase Magazine, Great British Chefs and many others. A few of her images made it into the shortlisted for The Pink Lady Food Photographer of The Year, International Siena Photo Festival and Women Behind The Lens.

Immune boosting

#4 Buckwheat risotto with asparagus and spinach

Since I was a child we would walk across the landscapes with my family in Sardinia during spring and late summer foraging wild asparagus. You would have hoped that nobody went there before yourself to harvest them all. And whenever one found a few would shout ‘two, three’ and so on, and your foraging companion would reply back with their numbers — it was like a challenge to prove who had the sharpest eyes!
I recently went to Sardinia and I brought a friend from London with me. We found so many asparagus that we renamed the place “The Asparagus Paradise”.

But luckily it is all a paradise in London if you wish to say so, we don't need to forage asparagus anymore as the grocery shops stock them all year round.

This is another variation of a tradition Italian primo piatto: risotto.
Giulia and I cooked buckwheat by following the exact same step you would follow to cook a regular risotto. We used buckwheat instead of rice as the first grain is high in fibre, phytonutrients and minerals such as copper and zinc. Low levels of zinc are linked to a weak immune system, therefor it is extremely important to increase consumption of zinc during winter months.

We picked asparagus for its distinctive flavour and because this vegetable —together with onion that in Italy is the base for almost every primo piatto— is packed with quercetin. Quercetin is a plant-compound that can help protecting the body from free-radicals, inflammation and viruses, on top of modulating the immune system.

Another great vegetable we added to the risotto is spinach which contains high levels of vitamin C and beta-carotene, also essential to our immune system and general health.

Buckwheat risotto with asparagus and spinach

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 serves 

INGREDIENTS

STOCK
600ml water
1 vegetable stock cube

RISOTTO
140g buckwheat
100ml white wine
1/2 onion finely chopped
130g asparagus
20g butter
40g baby spinach leaves
a handful of parsley
5 twists of black pepper
sea salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
Bring some water to the boil and then break 1 vegetable stock cube into 600ml of water.
Chop the asparagus into pieces of about 1 inch long.

Heat the butter in a shallow saucepan over a medium flame. Add 1 finely chopped onion, then fry for about 5 mins until is translucent.
Tip the buckwheat groats into the pan and cook for 1-2 min. Pour over the white wine and boil until the alcohol fully evaporates.

Keep the pan over a low heat and pour in half of the vegetable stock. After about 5 minutes stir in the previously chopped asparagus, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook.

Simmer the buckwheat, stirring often. When it has absorbed all the liquid, add another splash of stock again and continue to simmer and stir.
Continue stirring until the buckwheat is cooked and the water fully absorbed. If it is still undercooked, add more water.
Take the pan off the heat, add in a handful of chopped parsley leaves.

Cover and leave for a few mins to cool down so that the rice can take up any excess liquid as it cools a bit.