College Cooks -- Barley

This week we feature barley, a grain so versatile it’s often referred to as the chicken of the grain world! It’s a thirsty grain (an invention – really) that absorbs whatever liquid it’s cooked in. Barley was developed to make long-cooking wheat kernels into “fast food”. You’ll mostly find pearled barley (not the best choice because pearling strips the barley of it’s germ and most of it’s bran) in your food markets but I encourage you to look for hull-less (not hulled) barley. Hull-less barley – introduced to us over the past few decades -- is simply barley without the hulls (they fall off during the harvest); the bran is intact and there’s no need to pearl this barley so no nutrients are lost.

Cooking: Follow the directions on the packaging. Pearled will take the least time – 30-40 minutes. Hull-less takes about 40-50 minutes. For one week’s worth of meals, cook – in a 3-quart or bigger pot -- 2 cups barley in 6 cups of water with ¼ tsp salt. Yield for hull-less is 4 cups, for pearled about 6 cups.

The Recipes

Monday
Mushroom and Barley Soup

Heat a tablespoon of canola oil in your skillet. Cook 1 cup sliced mushrooms in the oil flavoring with salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 cups chicken or veggie broth, 1 cup of cooked barley, parsley, and more pepper if desired. This makes enough for two.

Tuesday
Barley Tabbouleh
Combine the following ingredients in a medium bowl and adjust the seasonings to your taste:
1½ cups cooked barley
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ peeled diced cucumber
½ can of diced tomatoes, drained (remember to save the liquid for soups)
1tsp dried mint or 2 T fresh mint, chopped
1/8 cup fruity olive oil
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 ½ T lemon juice from concentrate see College Cooks Pantry
NOTE: DO NOT USE REAL LEMON BRAND.

Wednesday
Barley and Turkey Chili
Cook ½ cup diced yellow onion and ½ cup diced green bell pepper in 2 T canola oil in your skillet. When the onions and peppers are cooked to the wilting stage, add ¼-1/2 pound of ground turkey. Cook until no longer pink over a low flame. Sprinkle with garlic powder, and black pepper while the meat cooks. After a minute or so add 1 tsp chili powder and a pinch of cinnamon (yes, cinnamon). Stir in ½ can diced tomatoes with reserved liquid from Tuesday’s recipe or other reserved tomato juice). Add 1/2 cup barley. Cover and simmer (med-low heat) for about 5 minutes. This is delicious served with sour cream but a little shredded or thinly sliced cheddar works well too.
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Thursday
Barley with Carrots and Squash
Steam frozen carrots (1/2 cup) and frozen squash (1/2 cup) until soft (about 10-15 minutes). If you don’t have a steamer basket for your medium pot, use can either cook the veggies in a very small amount of water (you’ll have to keep a close watch for this method in order to replenish the water as needed and prevent the veggies from scorching) or cook them in 1 cup of water over med-low heat and mix any water left into your casserole. Mix the veggies and 1 cup of cooked barley, 1 T dried currants, 1T honey, 4 tsp rosemary or thyme, and 3 T water. Cook until all ingredients are heated through. After plating, add 1 T of chopped hazelnuts, or almonds on the top.

Friday
Barley Burger
Combine 1 cup barley with one egg, ½ cup mashed black beans, ¼ cup whole grain bread crumbs, (you can add a small amount of cooked brown rice if you have any left over from another recipe), 1 T chopped onions, ¼ tsp chili powder, ½ T canned beets, finely chopped, small pinch of cumin, salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Form into two small burgers and cook in 1T canola oil and a tiny pat of butter (this aids the browning process and intensifies the flavor) until golden brown on both sides. You can add a slice of pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese at the last minute (leave the burgers in the pan and cover for a short time to melt the cheese). Serve with strips of fresh bell pepper or shredded lettuce and carrot dressed with chopped pickled jalapeno pepper. This burger can take a bun but make it a whole grain white bun for an added nutritional boost.

Comments

[MangerLaVille]

I love barley salads,with zuchunni, lemon zest and brocolli rabe. I also enjoy a barley risotto. It is very versatile and reminds me of farro, another favorite.