Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells
Pasta shells filled with spinach and ricotta beneath a tomato sauce.
About 55 min · 540 kcal · 30 g protein per serving
Vegetarian
Beetroot, goat's cheese and walnut barley
Pearl barley with sweet beetroot, soft goat's cheese and toasted walnuts.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 20 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm pearl barley is tender in 28 to 32 minutes in stock
- Photograph the finished bowl
- Time
- About 44 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 565 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 25 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk, tree nuts. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- vegetable stock. Vegetable stock often contains celery, and some contain milk or gluten; check the label, especially if you need it vegan.
- cooked beetroot. Beetroot in vinegar is a different product; this figure is for plain cooked beetroot.
- soft goat's cheese. Some goat's cheese is made with animal rennet; check the label if you are vegetarian.
Cooking steps
Simmer the barley in the stock, covered, for 28 to 32 minutes, until tender with a little bite. Drain off any liquid that is left.
While it cooks, toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3 to 4 minutes and chop them roughly.
Dice the cooked beetroot.
Fold the beetroot, the drained white beans, the oil and the lemon juice through the barley while it is still hot, and leave it for 5 minutes.
Break the goat's cheese into small pieces over the top, with the walnuts and dill, and turn it through only once or twice so the cheese stays in pieces.
The useful detail
Dress the barley while it is warm. Warm grains are still open and take the oil and acid right in; cold, they sit in the dressing without absorbing any of it.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the barley with 40 g of goat's cheese and half the walnuts. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Feta instead of goat's cheese
Saltier and firmer; it holds its shape rather than softening.
Per serving: about the same energy, about 2 g less protein, about the same fat.
Spelt instead of pearl barley
Chewier, and about 5 minutes longer.
Per serving: about 5 kcal less, about 2 g more protein, about 1 g more fat.
Flaked almonds instead of walnuts
Sweeter and lighter.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about 1 g more protein, about 2 g less fat.
Allergens: Both are tree nuts.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A grain bowl where the beans carry the protein and a small amount of a strong cheese carries the flavour, so neither has to be served in a large quantity.
| Energy | 565 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 25 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| of which saturates | 7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 75 g |
| of which sugars | 12 g |
| Fibre | 16 g |
| Sodium | 1,230 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pearl barley | 80 g | FDC 170284Barley, pearled, raw | 282 kcal | 7.9 g |
| vegetable stock | 345 g | FDC 171583Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve | 17 kcal | 0.8 g |
| walnuts | 20 g | FDC 170187Nuts, walnuts, english | 131 kcal | 3.0 g |
| cooked beetroot | 250 g | FDC 169146Beets, cooked, boiled, drained | 110 kcal | 4.2 g |
| white beans | 260 g | FDC 175204Beans, white, mature seeds, canned | 296 kcal | 18.9 g |
| olive oil | 9 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 80 kcal | 0.0 g |
| lemon juice | 15 g | FDC 167747Lemon juice, raw | 3 kcal | 0.1 g |
| soft goat's cheese | 80 g | FDC 173435Cheese, goat, soft type | 211 kcal | 14.8 g |
| fresh dill | 10 g | FDC 172233Dill weed, freshFresh dill is 43 kcal per 100 g on FoodData Central 172233, so the few grams a recipe uses add 2 or 3 kcal. That record has no sugars value, so the dill is listed here rather than counted, which keeps the recipe's sugars calculable. | · | · |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 1131 kcal | 49.7 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Ingredients marked “Not calculated” are excluded and could add at most 3 kcal to the whole recipe. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. Excellent cold. Add the cheese and walnuts fresh rather than storing them stirred in.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
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About 1 hr · 360 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
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