Grains & legumes
Strong evidenceBarley
Beta-glucan lowers LDL by 0.25 mmol/L. The glucose effect, though, fades by two hours and HbA1c did not move at all.
Barley and mushroom risotto
Risotto made with barley instead of rice. The beta-glucan dissolves as you stir, thickening the pan without any cream.
2 servings45 min
Ingredients
- Barley, whole or pearled1 cup (180 g)
- Shiitake mushrooms6 (150 g)
- Onion1/2
- Garlic2 cloves
- Vegetable stock or water800 ml
- Olive oil1 tbsp
- Parmesan2 tbsp (optional)
- Salt and pepperto taste
Method
Rinse the barley and soak for 30 minutes — 2 hours if it is whole grain.
Chop the garlic and leave it 10 minutes. Dice the onion finely.
Stem the shiitake and slice 5 mm thick.
Warm the olive oil and cook the onion over medium-low heat for 5 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic for 30 seconds.
Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes until their water has gone.
Drain the barley, add it and stir for a minute to coat in the oil.
Add warm stock a ladle at a time, stirring often, for 25–30 minutes. Top up as the liquid reduces.
When the barley still bites and the pan has thickened, take it off the heat and season. Cheese goes in last.
Cooking note
You stir risotto to pull starch out of the rice. In barley, beta-glucan does the same job — it is a water-soluble fibre, so the more you stir the thicker the pan gets. That is where the creaminess comes from without cream.
Barley's LDL evidence sits at 6.5 g of beta-glucan a day, and the EFSA labelling threshold is 3 g. One bowl will not reach that, but against a white-rice risotto it carries more than ten times the fibre.
Note: barley contains gluten. With coeliac disease, this dish is not for you.
Ingredients used here
Vegetables
Early researchShiitake
Ultraviolet light converts the ergosterol in shiitake into vitamin D2. Very few non-animal foods can do this.
Vegetables
Moderate evidenceOnion
Onion's antioxidant quercetin concentrates in the outer layers. Peeling two extra layers out of habit throws much of it away.
Vegetables
Moderate evidenceGarlic
The evidence for garlic points to a modest drop in blood pressure and cholesterol. The trick is to crush it and wait ten minutes before it hits the heat.