Risotto is all about the starch. But as we were reminded in Tuscany, it’s not all about the rice. You can make risotto with other grains such as barley, oats, farro, even wheat berries. Arborio rice is a great choice; it has a neutral flavor and is full of amylopectin, the branched starch that dissolves into cooking liquid to create risotto’s characteristic creamy texture. But pearled barley, which is used in Italy to make orzotto, also has a lot of starch and releases it in the same gradual way. You also get a nutty flavor and a bit of chew which, with the right ingredients, can be a good thing.

In Italy, barley is called orzo, hence the name orzotto. (No relation to the grain-shaped pasta that goes by that name in the U.S.) In an interview with Milk Street, cooking instructor and cookbook author Giulia Scarpaleggia showed us how to make her orzotto with a roasted cherry tomato puree. Scarpaleggia uses pearled barley; it releases its starch readily because the polishing process removes the husk and the bran, which would otherwise act as a barrier. We also tested hulled and quick-cooking barley. The former released starch more slowly because the bran is intact and the latter broke down quickly and turned to mush.

As for the tomatoes, Scarpaleggia was a picky eater as a child, but she loved the tomato risotto served at school. She tried to re-create it as an adult but without success until she hit on the roasting technique. Roasting concentrates the flavor and adds a caramelized sweetness that fresh tomatoes can’t touch—even tomatoes that aren’t at peak will turn jammy and sweetly savory.

This may not be your idea of risotto, but for Scarpaleggia it captures “the tomato risotto of my memory.”

Michelle Locke

Michelle Locke is a writer and editor with 25+ years of experience in media and communications. As books editor at Milk Street, she specializes in helping shepherd projects from concept to completion and is known for her dogged, some say relentless, attention to detail. Michelle has a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. When not updating spreadsheets she spends her time reading, walking and doing laundry.