Barley Mujadara Salad

This recipe was inspired by a discovery on a shelf at the Market of Choice. Z. and I were perusing the hot sauce and Indian chutneys when I saw this package:

I really enjoy barley and lentils so why not have them together?  The ingredients reminded me of mujadara, made with barley instead of rice. I've made mujadara before and really enjoyed the meal (here is my mujadara review and here is a link to the original recipe, if you are interested). Instead of paying several dollars for 10 or so ounces of prepackaged food, I decided to make my own version, creating a variation of my recent Cilantro Pistou recipe. As is mostly the case, I had no idea what I was doing and ended up with a very tasty dinner.

From the top clockwise: garam masala, ground ginger, and cumin seeds

This recipe is great warm or cold, so of course I tried both! I prefer Barley Mujadara Salad at room temperature or colder. Barley is very tasty warm, though I just love the texture of chilled barley. Mediterranean Barley Salad, anyone? The toothsomeness of properly cooked barley is brought out by chilling.

After making Cilantro Pistou, I was inspired to create a parsley version. I figured since parsley is commonly featured in Middle Eastern Cuisine, Barley Mujadara was the perfect first vehicle for my Parlsey Pistou, or what I might call a parsley vinaigrette. Whatever it's called, the green stuff I mixed in with the barley, lentils, veggies, and spices tied everything together.

I am always proud of my onions; hence, way too many pictures of browned onions.

I wanted to keep this pretty brainless so I cooked all the ingredients separately then mixed everything together. If you are talented enough to cook things together that have different cooking times and not overcook anything (like Z.) be my guest. Enjoy!

Barley and Lentil Mujadara Salad

by Ace Nation

Keywords: entree salad vegan barley beans/lentils Middle Eastern

Ingredients

For the Mujadara

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced thinly into half-moons
• 4 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 1 cup brown lentils
• 1 cup barley
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin or 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt, to taste

For the Parsley Vinaigrette

• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more or less depending on your taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions

For the Parsley Vinaigrette

Combine parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil in a blender. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt.

For the rest of the dish

Cook the barley and lentils separately according to package directions. Set aside when done.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a high-sided skillet over medium-low to medium heat. Add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very browned, about 20-25 minutes.

Add garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Set aside when done.

Meanwhile, heat a small and dry pan over medium heat. Toast the spices about 60 seconds. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked barley, lentils, and onion mixture with toasted spices and parsley vinaigrette. Make sure to taste and add more salt if needed. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Barley-Risotto Style

When searching for winter squash recipes, you will definitely come across ravioli and risotto. After successfully mastering pumpkin ravioli, I decided to give risotto a shot.

Butternut squash is most commonly used but I had a gorgeous squash from the farmer's market. It's called a sunset squash. The name does more justice to the beautiful color than my pictures. If you have ever seen a tree with red leaves in the fall that were so vibrant and red that they almost glowed they were so vibrant, that's what the skin of this squash looked like.

P.S. It was difficult to cut the squash like this. Looks pretty but I would only suggest you do slices if you are comfortable in the kitchen with a knife.

Feel free to use risotto rice. The only change to the directions would be the cooking time. Rice would only need about half the time. I have made barley risotto-style before and loved it. I really enjoy the flavor of barley but don't cook it that often because it takes so long. I should get more in the habit. Barley is cheap: around $0.70 per pound in these parts. Barley works great for risotto because it becomes tender but still has a nice bite. Just a few tidbits of hopefully useful knowledge:

• Barley takes a long time to cook. Everything was simmering away even with the stove set right between off and medium so I left it there. Once the barley hit the pan, it needed about 65 minutes to cook.
• I added water/stock about every ten minutes.
• I only stirred the pot every five minutes. You do not have to stand over the stove the whole time. Just please don't forgot about your glorious pot of food while it's cooking!

I had two secret ingredients. Many recipes I found only added chunks of squash. I wanted the flavor of the squash to be the star so in addition to the pieces of squash, I added a cup of squash puree. Not only did the make the flavor of the pumpkin the star, the puree added a nice creaminess.

My second secret ingredient was a granny smith apple. The tartness of the apple provided tasty balance to the sweet and savory pumpkin. I made sure to add the apple towards the end to make sure it still had a little bit of crispness. Below are a few shots of the barley in the process of cooking, a few extra tips I learned along the way, and the recipe. Enjoy!

This is to show where I kept the stove temperature the entire time: right in the middle between off and medium. The onions took ages to cook and 65 minutes passed between adding the barley to the pot and being on my plate but it was well worth it. Feel free to try cooking the barley at a slightly higher temperature. I have no idea what will happen.

The barley smelled delicious while toasting in the pan, much like my current favorite ale. I was inspired!

Here's what the pot looked like after the first addition of  water/stock. Don't be afraid of the color!

Pumpkin Barley-Risotto Style

by Ace Nation

Cook Time: about 60 minutes

Keywords: entree vegan winter squash barley

Ingredients (serves 3)

• 5-7 cups water, stock, or a combination
• 1 cup hulled barley
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 yellow or white onion, diced finely
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups roasted winter squash or pumpkin, diced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup roasted winter squash puree
• 1/2 14 ounce can of white beans (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Instructions

Place the water or stock in a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer, and keep warm.

In another larger sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium-low to medium heat. Add onion, stirring occasionally, cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add garlic, stirring occasionally, cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add barley and cook until aromatic, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water/stock at a time and the squash puree, stirring about every 5 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed.

Then, add 1/2 water/stock at a time, stirring occasionally.

After about 50 minutes of adding 1/2 liquid, add the diced squash, white beans, and apple to the pan and additional water/stock as needed. At this time, I begin to add 1/4 cup water/stock at a time. Stir very gently.

Continue the process of adding water/stock and stirring until the barley is fully cooked. The grains will be tender but still slightly chewy.

Enjoy!

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Barley Risotto-Style

Barley was on of the first grains after brown rice I purchased when I moved out on my own because this grain was slightly familiar and CHEAP. Well, I did not have a clue what to do with barley and was discouraged by the long cooking time so most of that first package of barley eventually ended up in the garbage can.

This fall after many years of a barley-free pantry I decided to give barley another chance for several reasons. First, barley is still cheap, less than $1 a pound at all the stores in my area. The large, toothsome grain will be a nice alternative to some of my other favorite whole-grains. I know barley still requires an extended cooking time but many of my current favorite meals have a similar cooking time, time is not an issue.

I make my granola with a combination of oats, rye flakes, and barley flakes. Recently, I made a batch of granola with the ingredients I had on hand, which were oats and rye flakes. The granola was good but lacking. Then I made a batch with my three favorite grains. The barley flakes are delicious and I had missed their flavor. Realizing how delicious barley really is, I decided to give the kernels another chance.

I love taking a homely, pedestrian ingredient and applying more elegant or fussy techniques to it. I am only familiar with barley that has been thrown into the soup, adding a pleasant flavor but probably more as a filler. I chose risotto as my first barley recipe for good reason. I knew I could add lots of flavor to this humble member of the grass family.

Any number of vegetables could be used in Barley Risotto-Style. I would always include garlic and some other allium relative, such as shallot, leek, or onion. Shallots or leek are worth the extra cost in this instance. The nuances of their flavors come out in a dish like risotto where onion would be fine but could be overpowering.

If this dish were a side, I would probably not include the beans. This risotto was going to be my dinner so I wanted the protein. White beans would be traditional but I went with kidney beans. I think the kidney bean is under appreciated. Not only are kidney beans a good source of iron, the flesh of the bean becomes very creamy.

The other secret ingredient to Barley Risotto-Style is the white wine. The wine perfumes and flavors the barley with a flavorful brightness that citrus or vinegar cannot provide. I prefer sauvignon blanc for its crisp, bright flavor. In this case, I used a chardonnay I really enjoy that does not have the typical oaky-flavor of chardonnay. Enjoy!

Barley Risotto-Style

6-8 cups water, stock, or a combination
1 cup white wine
1 cup barley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 leek, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
4 oz mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Garnish **

1. Place the water or stock in a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer, and keep warm.
2. In another larger sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium-low to medium heat. Add leek, carrot, and mushrooms, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are soft.
3. Add barley and cook until aromatic, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add wine and cook until wine has been absorbed.
5. Stir in 1 cup of water or stock at a time, stirring occasionally until the liquid is absorbed. 
6. Once 4-5 cups of liquid has been added, add liquid 1/2 cup at a time, as needed, until the barley grains are cooked but still firm. The total cooking time may take around 45 minutes or longer.

** If you desire, garnish with freshly chopped parsley. If you would like a creamier risotto, add either 1 tablespoon butter, or 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese, or 1 tablespoon cream, or any combination.

Spinach-Barley Soup

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for reading my little blog! I can't believe how much I am enjoying sharing my cooking escapades with you. Thank you! On to the recipe! Occasionally, my couponing allows me to procure free cans of soup. If you are interested in couponing, some of the brands that I regularly see coupons for are Progresso, Campbell's Select Harvest, occasionally Chunky and Campbell's Condensed Soups. Safeway still accepts Shortcuts electronic coupons, which does regularly have e-coupons for Campbell's Select Harvest and Progresso Soup.

If I am getting Cambell's Select Harvest, I tend to reach for the Italian Wedding Soup. It has some of my favorite foods: meatballs, spinach, rice, and broth. I had finished all the canned soup in the pantry, when it finally occurred to me that I could just make my own variation of the soup. I am not known as the sharpest knife in the drawer so it took me a little while to think of this. What I came up with is a soup that features, you probably guessed it by reading the title, spinach and barley. I also added white beans. I was surprised at how good the barley and white beans were together. I am foreseeing a barley risotto with white beans in my future.

I have tried making soup where I just tossed the veggies, like onion and garlic, straight into the soup. I am finding, over and over again, it is well worth the time to soften the vegetables in some olive oil before adding the broth. Also, since I am new to using barley, I cooked it separately. I wasn't exactly sure how much liquid it would soak up. Next time, I will cook it with the soup's broth; I don't think it will affect the broth ratio too much. For now, my directions are for cooking the barley separately. Enjoy!

Barley

The rest of the Ingredients

Chopped Spinach

Finished Soup!

Spinach-Barley Soup
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/3 bag (8 oz. bag) spinach
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can vegetable broth
1 bay leaf (optional)
olive oil
water (I used 4 cups)
salt and pepper to taste

1. If cooking barley separately, bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil, add barley, stir, and cover with a lid, lowering heat to a simmer. For fully cooked barley, simmer for 35-40 minutes. I cooked the barley 25 minutes. Once cooked, drain.
2. In soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-low. Add onion and sprinkle with a little salt. Saute a few minutes before adding the garlic. 
3. Once onions and garlic are softened, add broth, water, bay leaf, beans, and barley. Simmer about 15-20 minutes.
4. Add chopped spinach. Simmer until spinach is wilted and warm.
5. Before serving, remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Price Breakdown
.23 barley (from the Market of Choice)
.33 spinach
.68 beans
.13 onion (still $.48/pound here)
.06 garlic
.50 broth
.07 olive oil 
Total: $2.00 or $0.40/bowl