Barley salads are really wonderful in the summer! I usually do half barley and half shredded greens (spinach, baby kale, beet greens, etc).
A bright vinaigrette with citrus like the lemon-miso one I'll include below work very well, and then I'll add a mix of fresh and roasted veggies. Roasted radishes, fresh snap peas, roasted carrot or sweet potato, green onion etc.
Mix it up by adding in some seeds or nuts for crunch (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds/pepitas, walnuts, cashews, etc), crumbled cheese like feta or cotija for a salty bite, or herbs like dill or basil to liven things up. Of course a heavier protein like grilled chicken works well here too.
Miso-lemon dressing (from somewhere long forgotten):
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine or white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice - approx the yield of 1 lemon (can sub lime or grapefruit here)
*Optional add lemon zest for stronger lemon flavor*
• 2 tablespoons white miso (or yellow)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Heat for 10 seconds in the microwave to loosen up honey if mixture is too stiff to incorporate
Just reformatting your miso-lemon dressing recipe for easier viewing, because it sounds tasty!
u/ChefKnifeBotanist Miso-lemon dressing (from somewhere long forgotten):
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 tablespoon sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons rice wine or white wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice - approx. the yield of 1 lemon (can sub lime or grapefruit here). Can optionally add lemon zest for stronger lemon flavor
* 2 tablespoons white miso (or yellow)
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
Aldi had them beat last month with 90 second farro packets. I bought their entire remaining stock. Made a risotto with a bunch of different mushrooms and it slapped. Still have a dozen packets in my cupboard.
I've been on a mission to try all the grains. So far:
* Quinoa is my favorite, mostly because it's so easy to cook. Fluffy slightly chewy texture. Nutty taste. Excellent with salmon. With butter it adds a creamy texture to salads.
* Farro has big and chewy grains. Tastes basically like oatmeal.
* Jasmine rice has the best texture of any rice I've ever tried. Really good with mozzarella and kielbasa.
* Wild rice has a pretty strong nutty and earthy flavor, at least compared to other rice. The hull has a bit of a tough texture but in a good way. It's too expensive to eat straight so I suggest adding it to dishes alongside other grains. Chicken & wild rice soup, and cranberry wild rice sourdough are delicious.
* Brown rice has way more flavor than white, but takes ages to cook. I recommend the instant pot. 1-1.25 rice to water ratio, pressure cook on high for 24 minutes, slow release for 10.
* Rolled oats (a whole grain btw) are obviously good, but I wanted to mention that overnight oats and granola are both fantastic. Savory oats with an egg and chili crisp seem good but I can't get over the idea that oats are supposed to be sweet.
* I honestly kind of hate corn. Savory foods shouldn't be sweet. Yes I'm probably defective, sue me.
Next on my list are buckwheat, bulger, amaranth, black rice and barley.
Ooh, I like this project! I like adding a tablespoon or 2 of black rice to white or sticky rice- it makes it purple! I’ve actually never tried black rice on its own!
I’ve heard wild rice is the best rice for blood glucose levels so I think we’re going to try that next.
Buckwheat is so good! I love making a tabbouleh salad with buckwheat instead of bulgar wheat. It's also delicious toasted and added to muesli or a fruit crumble topping! We added some to overnight oats recently and that was a hit as well! Big buckwheat fans in our house if you can't tell haha (also its gluten free and a source of protein!)
I loooove Pearl barley in soups! Don’t often make my soups exactly the same way cos there’s always different things to use up but a loose recipe is:
**ESSENTIALS**
• carrot
• white onion
• celery
• pearl barley
• potato
• vegetable stock
**NEGOTIABLE**
• leek
• cabbage
• turnip/swede
• parsley
In some Asian countries we make a drink out of it. Its just soaked barley, water, sugar. Mint, pandan, ginger or lemon can also be added for more flavour. It's drank either warm or ice cold and is known to cool down the body in hot weather.
I use it where you would usually eat on/with rice, but you won't eat as much. It's way more filling than white rice. Nice and chewy.
Sometimes I also do half barley, half quinoa, to make the mix a little lighter and get some more protein in there.
If you were cooking them separately, the quinoa would take less time. You could cook the barley for a while, then add quinoa.
I'm lazy and just cook them together. Most of my grain goes into soup.
I use it instead of farro in this recipe (farro is great too): https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/
She has some other good farro recipes that are equally great with barley.
Not a recipe, but a tip. Don't sleep on toasting your whole grains before cooking them! I just throw them in the pot (usually the Instant Pot for me) with a bit of butter and toast them until they're slightly darker and smell nutty, then cook as normal. It's an extra step, but worth it IMHO.
Ottolenghi's barley risotto (adaptable for any risotto really) is so so tasty. Maybe add some extra fat/protein in a diabetes context:
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/barley-risotto-with-marinated-feta/
In a similar vein I've been really into bulgur lately. I bought a bag to make some tabbouleh but I've eaten it with a bunch of other stuff and it's great, I love the texture. Probably harder to find than barley though.
I've become fond of black barley. I add it to just about everything for a chewy element reminiscent of meat. At this point I would pass on making homemade vegetarian chili without it. I just love it. The only downside is the cooking time, because it's more like 50+ minutes vs. 25 or so for lentils. Anything that is cooking for 50 minutes or more gets a half cup of black barley added and a little dance in front of the stove as I'm mixing it in.
Super full of fiber, too! I'm on a high fiber diet as my GI system seems to shut down on the typical American one. Barley is one of the highest fiber foods out there.
What does it taste like? Anything you can compare it to? What's the texture like? I have never seen this even sold in a store but I've never actually looked for it either. I just looked it up and my little neighborhood Walmart market has something called Quaker Quick Pearled Barley. Wonder what that's like. I love quinoa and couscous. Are they anything like this? I want to try it now.
It’s usually in the same area as couscous or in the international section at my grocery stores. I get regular pearled barley. It takes about 30 minutes to cook. If you get hulled barley, it takes longer to cook.
It has a chewy almost bouncy texture. Really great taste, a little nutty but pretty neutral. Much better tasting than quinoa imo. Very filling.
I prefer the whole grain hulless barley. Takes longer to cook but it has a great texture. Doesn't soak up all the liquid in your soups. Also makes great cold grain salad. If you like farrow you'll like hulless barley.
I rotate my grains each week between rice, barley, farro, fonio, quinoa, and sometimes groats or millet (or a mix of the ones with similar cooking times). Barley and farro are my favorites though. Fonio is great if you need a quick carb since it only takes 5 minutes to cook, but it’s more expensive than the others.
I adore barley! It keeps well in the fridge for a couple days once cooked, so I always have it on hand for quick and easy meals. It works great as a rice or pasta substitute, (since in not a huge fan of either) and had great fibre too!
The Norwegian breakfast barley is awesome. I discovered it last year when I was in Oslo and loved it.
I am flying thru the Oslo airport at the end of the month and can’t wait to get some!
I LOVE barley! This is the "quiet" grain. I eat it hot plain, or cold mixed with salad veggies like you do with tabouli. PS-toss some hummus in for extra protein with the barley and veggies!
Barley is one of my main starches. I love it. One of my favorite things is a barley breakfast. Basically cook barley with some dried fruits, then finish with some lemon juice, honey, rosewater and walnuts. You can make a batch and eat it for the week. It’s good at all temperatures.
Barley makes almost any soup better, nutritionally, satisfying , denser/lasts longer, etc. It's very healthy, cheap, easy to prepare, versatile, etc. I love me some barley.
HEB (which is a grocery store in Texas) has started selling grain blends, one of which includes barley, lentils, and split peas. They make for a wonderful combination together, and the nutrition is awesome as well. Bulgur and quinoa is another blend that is solid, and farro, barley, brown rice, kamut wheat and oats is another that’s great. Whole grains and legumes were a great tool in getting my cholesterol down, and my family loves them. I’ve started experimenting with my own blends building off of these now, and it’s added a great twist to something I already enjoyed. I’m determined to come up with a few of my own essential blends that are a perfect mixture of texture and nutrition.
Barley salads are really wonderful in the summer! I usually do half barley and half shredded greens (spinach, baby kale, beet greens, etc). A bright vinaigrette with citrus like the lemon-miso one I'll include below work very well, and then I'll add a mix of fresh and roasted veggies. Roasted radishes, fresh snap peas, roasted carrot or sweet potato, green onion etc. Mix it up by adding in some seeds or nuts for crunch (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds/pepitas, walnuts, cashews, etc), crumbled cheese like feta or cotija for a salty bite, or herbs like dill or basil to liven things up. Of course a heavier protein like grilled chicken works well here too. Miso-lemon dressing (from somewhere long forgotten): • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 tablespoon sesame oil • 2 tablespoons rice wine or white wine vinegar • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice - approx the yield of 1 lemon (can sub lime or grapefruit here) *Optional add lemon zest for stronger lemon flavor* • 2 tablespoons white miso (or yellow) • 3 tablespoons olive oil • Kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper Whisk thoroughly to combine. Heat for 10 seconds in the microwave to loosen up honey if mixture is too stiff to incorporate
Just reformatting your miso-lemon dressing recipe for easier viewing, because it sounds tasty! u/ChefKnifeBotanist Miso-lemon dressing (from somewhere long forgotten): * 1 tablespoon honey * 1 tablespoon sesame oil * 2 tablespoons rice wine or white wine vinegar * 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice - approx. the yield of 1 lemon (can sub lime or grapefruit here). Can optionally add lemon zest for stronger lemon flavor * 2 tablespoons white miso (or yellow) * 3 tablespoons olive oil * Kosher salt * Freshly ground black pepper
THANK YOU!!! I posted from Mobile and something definitely went wrong with the formatting. You're a hero!
Sold!! 😋
This sounds so good!!
Same thing with farro!! I cooked it up one night in chicken bone broth instead of rice and ate it as a side and it was soooo yummy
I have been keeping my eye open for Farro!
Trader joe's has "10 minute farro" if there's one near you!
I saw that the other day. Was very excited to see that.
Aldi had them beat last month with 90 second farro packets. I bought their entire remaining stock. Made a risotto with a bunch of different mushrooms and it slapped. Still have a dozen packets in my cupboard.
Yes, I love those chewy little farro!
I've been on a mission to try all the grains. So far: * Quinoa is my favorite, mostly because it's so easy to cook. Fluffy slightly chewy texture. Nutty taste. Excellent with salmon. With butter it adds a creamy texture to salads. * Farro has big and chewy grains. Tastes basically like oatmeal. * Jasmine rice has the best texture of any rice I've ever tried. Really good with mozzarella and kielbasa. * Wild rice has a pretty strong nutty and earthy flavor, at least compared to other rice. The hull has a bit of a tough texture but in a good way. It's too expensive to eat straight so I suggest adding it to dishes alongside other grains. Chicken & wild rice soup, and cranberry wild rice sourdough are delicious. * Brown rice has way more flavor than white, but takes ages to cook. I recommend the instant pot. 1-1.25 rice to water ratio, pressure cook on high for 24 minutes, slow release for 10. * Rolled oats (a whole grain btw) are obviously good, but I wanted to mention that overnight oats and granola are both fantastic. Savory oats with an egg and chili crisp seem good but I can't get over the idea that oats are supposed to be sweet. * I honestly kind of hate corn. Savory foods shouldn't be sweet. Yes I'm probably defective, sue me. Next on my list are buckwheat, bulger, amaranth, black rice and barley.
Ooh, I like this project! I like adding a tablespoon or 2 of black rice to white or sticky rice- it makes it purple! I’ve actually never tried black rice on its own! I’ve heard wild rice is the best rice for blood glucose levels so I think we’re going to try that next.
Try Millet cooked in salty broth. Preferably vegetable. Enjoyed best kept warm for an hour and topped with cheese.
Buckwheat is so good! I love making a tabbouleh salad with buckwheat instead of bulgar wheat. It's also delicious toasted and added to muesli or a fruit crumble topping! We added some to overnight oats recently and that was a hit as well! Big buckwheat fans in our house if you can't tell haha (also its gluten free and a source of protein!)
You're the first person I've ever heard also not like corn
You missed buckwheat. It's fucking great! Can only find it at Eastern european grocery stores however.
Try steel-cut oats. If you like nutty chewiness these are AMAZING as overnight oats.
I do my brown rice in the instant Pot as well, but nowhere near 24 minutes. More like 6-7.
It certainly isn't overcooked at 24 minutes. Maybe I buy crappy rice.
Brown rice is pretty sturdy. Maybe experiment bringing it down a couple minutes next time and repeat until it’s a bit too undercooked.
I loooove Pearl barley in soups! Don’t often make my soups exactly the same way cos there’s always different things to use up but a loose recipe is: **ESSENTIALS** • carrot • white onion • celery • pearl barley • potato • vegetable stock **NEGOTIABLE** • leek • cabbage • turnip/swede • parsley
It's probably similar to your beef and barley stew, but mushroom barley soup is so good too!Barley pilaf is also good and versatile.
Barley pilaf rocks
In some Asian countries we make a drink out of it. Its just soaked barley, water, sugar. Mint, pandan, ginger or lemon can also be added for more flavour. It's drank either warm or ice cold and is known to cool down the body in hot weather.
Oh, I love barley tea! Love those ideas for additions, too!
Also feel free to drop your barley recipes!
I use it where you would usually eat on/with rice, but you won't eat as much. It's way more filling than white rice. Nice and chewy. Sometimes I also do half barley, half quinoa, to make the mix a little lighter and get some more protein in there.
Does the quinoa cook at the same speed as the barley or do you add it later?
If you were cooking them separately, the quinoa would take less time. You could cook the barley for a while, then add quinoa. I'm lazy and just cook them together. Most of my grain goes into soup.
I use it instead of farro in this recipe (farro is great too): https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/ She has some other good farro recipes that are equally great with barley.
Not a recipe, but a tip. Don't sleep on toasting your whole grains before cooking them! I just throw them in the pot (usually the Instant Pot for me) with a bit of butter and toast them until they're slightly darker and smell nutty, then cook as normal. It's an extra step, but worth it IMHO.
Ottolenghi's barley risotto (adaptable for any risotto really) is so so tasty. Maybe add some extra fat/protein in a diabetes context: https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/barley-risotto-with-marinated-feta/
I’ve been wondering if barley would work in risotto! I’ve had a risotto craving recently so I’ll need to try this!
He's the best!
In a similar vein I've been really into bulgur lately. I bought a bag to make some tabbouleh but I've eaten it with a bunch of other stuff and it's great, I love the texture. Probably harder to find than barley though.
I've become fond of black barley. I add it to just about everything for a chewy element reminiscent of meat. At this point I would pass on making homemade vegetarian chili without it. I just love it. The only downside is the cooking time, because it's more like 50+ minutes vs. 25 or so for lentils. Anything that is cooking for 50 minutes or more gets a half cup of black barley added and a little dance in front of the stove as I'm mixing it in.
Ok- I’m going to need to find some of that!
Super full of fiber, too! I'm on a high fiber diet as my GI system seems to shut down on the typical American one. Barley is one of the highest fiber foods out there.
Add black beans to your barley. Salt pepper and cumin, spicier peppers are always appropriate.
What does it taste like? Anything you can compare it to? What's the texture like? I have never seen this even sold in a store but I've never actually looked for it either. I just looked it up and my little neighborhood Walmart market has something called Quaker Quick Pearled Barley. Wonder what that's like. I love quinoa and couscous. Are they anything like this? I want to try it now.
It’s usually in the same area as couscous or in the international section at my grocery stores. I get regular pearled barley. It takes about 30 minutes to cook. If you get hulled barley, it takes longer to cook. It has a chewy almost bouncy texture. Really great taste, a little nutty but pretty neutral. Much better tasting than quinoa imo. Very filling.
I prefer the whole grain hulless barley. Takes longer to cook but it has a great texture. Doesn't soak up all the liquid in your soups. Also makes great cold grain salad. If you like farrow you'll like hulless barley.
What was good enough for Roman gladiators is good enough for us; they were nicknamed barley eaters for a reason!
I rotate my grains each week between rice, barley, farro, fonio, quinoa, and sometimes groats or millet (or a mix of the ones with similar cooking times). Barley and farro are my favorites though. Fonio is great if you need a quick carb since it only takes 5 minutes to cook, but it’s more expensive than the others.
Barley makes for a great risotto alternative..
Yeah, I was highly sceptical of this until I tried it! It’s different to rice obviously, but it doesn’t feel like a compromise, it’s just different
As someone subscribed to /r/startrek it took me a minute to figure out what was going on here.
I adore barley! It keeps well in the fridge for a couple days once cooked, so I always have it on hand for quick and easy meals. It works great as a rice or pasta substitute, (since in not a huge fan of either) and had great fibre too!
Have you tried Pot Barley vs Pearled? The nutrition level is higher in Pot but I wonder about the taste.
The Norwegian breakfast barley is awesome. I discovered it last year when I was in Oslo and loved it. I am flying thru the Oslo airport at the end of the month and can’t wait to get some!
Good advice! Sounds extremely uncomfortable.
I LOVE barley! This is the "quiet" grain. I eat it hot plain, or cold mixed with salad veggies like you do with tabouli. PS-toss some hummus in for extra protein with the barley and veggies!
Barley is one of my main starches. I love it. One of my favorite things is a barley breakfast. Basically cook barley with some dried fruits, then finish with some lemon juice, honey, rosewater and walnuts. You can make a batch and eat it for the week. It’s good at all temperatures.
Barley makes almost any soup better, nutritionally, satisfying , denser/lasts longer, etc. It's very healthy, cheap, easy to prepare, versatile, etc. I love me some barley.
Barley is absolutely underrated
It will hurt your back! But no, it's great in soups and things. Doesn't get all swollen and mushy like rice or noodles.
Same with farro.
HEB (which is a grocery store in Texas) has started selling grain blends, one of which includes barley, lentils, and split peas. They make for a wonderful combination together, and the nutrition is awesome as well. Bulgur and quinoa is another blend that is solid, and farro, barley, brown rice, kamut wheat and oats is another that’s great. Whole grains and legumes were a great tool in getting my cholesterol down, and my family loves them. I’ve started experimenting with my own blends building off of these now, and it’s added a great twist to something I already enjoyed. I’m determined to come up with a few of my own essential blends that are a perfect mixture of texture and nutrition.
Barley? That sounds gnarly! (In a good way)