This one-pot meal marries risotto magic with a good-for-you grain
A warm and slithery slurp of minestrone is all well and good, but I'm even more partial to the next-day thickening that occurs when the soup's pasta or grains have been refrigerated in tomato-y broth. The effect is risotto-like, encouraging recipe developers to affix "-otto" to the tail end of such dish names.
This barlotto is my new favorite of that genre, made with pearl barley. What the grain loses in fiber - vs. its hulled counterpart - it makes up for by cooking faster while retaining a characteristic chew. Here, sun-dried tomatoes amp up the red flavor, and the squash cooks just long enough in the one-pot mix to become tender.
You could toss in fresh or dried herbs, but I like the simplicity of the dish's onion and garlic.
Should you find yourself with chilled leftovers, dig in with a spoon before you warm them up with a slosh of water or more vegetable broth.