I barley know her!

February 25, 2011 8:54 AM

Give me your best barley recipes!

I've recently discovered that I love barley. I throw it in soups and found a cool recipe for using it for stuffed peppers, but I'm not sure what to do with it that would really highlight it. How do you like your barley? Carnivore and vegetarian recipes welcome.

posted by Kimberly to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Smitten Kitchen barley risotto
posted by leigh1 at 9:00 AM on February 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Barley on Tastespotting
posted by leigh1 at 9:02 AM on February 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Saffron barley: Soak a pinch of saffron in a tablespoon of hot water for a few minutes. Saute a small, finely chopped onion and a diced clove of garlic in some oil for a few minutes (use a small pot with a lid for this). Add a cup of barley and toast for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken broth, a teaspoon of herbes de provence and the saffron with its liquid. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for about 40 minutes, until barley is tender and the broth is absorbed. Add some diced parsley and some grated Parmesan cheese if you have some around. Tasty!
posted by heurtebise at 9:19 AM on February 25, 2011

Best answer: I just tried a great recipe from "The Anti-Cancer Cookbook" by Julia Greer. The recipe is below. The only difference is that I didn't use the fennel or bell pepper (Mr. Ipsum won't eat them), and I used Whole Hull-less Barley from Bob's Red Mill instead of pearl barley. If you use that, cook for about 90 minutes instead of 40-50. All in all, I thought it tasted really good.

Barley and Spring Greens

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray, canola-oil flavor
3/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup red or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1-1/4 cups pearl barley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
4-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, torn into pieces (or use baby spinach)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

Preparation: Generously coat a large, heavy stock pot with non-
stick cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add onions
and fennel and sauté until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Add olive oil
and heat until hot. Add garlic and bell peppers; sauté lightly 1 to 2
minutes. Stir in barley, thyme, marjoram, and chicken broth. Bring
to a boil, immediately reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid
is almost absorbed and barley is tender, stirring occasionally, 40 to
50 minutes. Midway through cooking, sprinkle with salt and pep-
per as desired. When barley is finished cooking, add spinach,
Parmesan cheese, and basil. Stir to blend and season with salt and
pepper as desired. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.
posted by LaurenIpsum at 9:26 AM on February 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

I recently made tabouli using barley as the grain, and it was fantastic.
posted by Kololo at 9:29 AM on February 25, 2011

Another one. "The New American Plate Cookbook" has a recipe for "Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Barley" which I found linked here: http://www.recipelink.com/mf/0/81024

I have not made this one, but the book has a similar recipe using rice which I have made, and it tasted really good, so I'm sure this one would too.
posted by LaurenIpsum at 9:29 AM on February 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This barley casserole recipe from James Beard is really simple, but really comforting on a cold day.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:34 AM on February 25, 2011

Another barley risotto recipe, this one from Everyday Food, with corn and basil - I like to make it in the slow cooker sometimes.
posted by Neely O'Hara at 10:36 AM on February 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

For lunch earlier this week I made a fairly simple salad of barley, roasted butternut squash cubes & onion wedges, dried cranberries, and goat cheese. Warmed up so that the cheese melts a bit, it was unbelievably good. I imagine that many of the grain-based salads (hot and cold) at 101 Cookbooks would work with barley instead of the original wheat berries, farro, etc.
posted by rebekah at 10:58 AM on February 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: rebekah, how do you cook your barley for those salads? Just in boiling water or some other way?
posted by Kimberly at 11:14 AM on February 25, 2011

Best answer: Drop a chuck roast into your crock pot and toss in a pound or two of sliced mushrooms, a large sliced onion, a can of beef consomme or beef stock if you've got it. Toss in a cup of barley and 1/2 a bottle of red wine. Set it on low. Go to work. When you get home, lift out the meat and turn off the crock. Stir in some frozen peas and some sour cream. Serve with chunks of the meat. It is a very rich and heavy dish that is good for a winter's night. Have a loaf of crusty bread on hand to help you sop up the dregs.
posted by onhazier at 12:10 PM on February 25, 2011 [7 favorites]

I grew up on pearl barley soups. I recently tried pot barley. It's so much better! It also doesn't dissolve into mush like pearl barley.

Korean roasted barley tea is awesome, but it's probably easier to buy the tea bags than make it yourself.
posted by scruss at 12:48 PM on February 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Barley with Winter Greens Pesto from Chow.com
posted by JABof72 at 7:48 PM on February 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've been using this barley recipe for awhile, and really love it. (I've made the amounts more specific, if you want that copied out.)
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:45 AM on February 26, 2011

Best answer: @Kimberly -- I used Bob's Red Mill Whole Hull-Less Barley and followed the directions on the package: 1 cup barley to 3.5 cups water; simmer for 40-80 minutes depending on how soft you want it. I let mine go for around an hour, then strained off the extra water and gave the barley a quick rinse in the strainer in the hopes that it wouldn't stick together in the fridge. Perhaps not the most orthodox way to go about things, but it worked well for my purposes. What didn't go in the salad with excellent with sliced bananas, dried cranberries, walnuts, and a bit of milk for breakfast.
posted by rebekah at 4:11 PM on March 2, 2011