Barley with Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash

This dish is light and spring-y and can be made as a main dish, or as a stew, depending on what you're in the mood for.  We always double this if it's just the main dish, but quite honestly, we prefer it as a stew so that's what we do most often.  Just an FYI: the non-stew version is very pretty when plated and appropriate for guests with a nice salad on the side.

Barley with Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash
serves 4-6

• 1 cup barley + 2 1/4 cups broth, cook
• 1 lg red onion, chopped
• 1-2 tsp minced garlic, to taste
• 1 large bunch kale, cleaned, destemmed, chopped fine
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash
• 2 TBLS white wine
• 1-2 cans white beans (if I need to stretch this, or I'm serving it to men, I use two cans)

Roast the squash (or microwave it if you don't have the time)

When barley is close to being done, saute the onion until soft, add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. 

Add kale and roasted squash and cook until wilted. 

Add white wine and beans and gently stir.  Serve over barley.

Stew version:

Don't roast squash.  Double recipe (use only 1 1/4 cups barley) in a dutch oven or crockpot and add 8 cups broth.  Instead of kale, you can use a 1 lb bag of chopped spinach.   Crockpot: high for 4-6 hrs.