POLL: Barley

[Jenise]

For the last week I've been fashioning various dishes from what remains in the freezer and the pantry in order to both empty them and fill the freezer for the coming months in which I will have no kitchen but for a microwave and a toaster oven on a folding table. Some braised lamb shanks done in an Indian style curry along the lines of a rogan josh have commanded my attention this morning, but alas I'm completely out of rice so the starch accompaniament in the four portions I've made will be divided between paparadelle and barley. The barley, cooked in just salted water with a bit of olive oil, is so tasty that I'd happily sit down and eat a bowl of it for breakfast if I'd only made more.

Which got me to thinking about how I feel this way every time I make barley, and yet barley's turn comes around far too rarely. Unless I'm making it as the base for a salad or adding it to a soup, I rarely think of it, though I love it on its own. Shame on me, for I know both that it makes a fabulous risotto-like dish called barlotto, I believe, and it's one of the most nutritious grains on the planet. Am I alone?

I just don't think of Barley, which is odd since I'm usually happy when I see it used in a soup or stew or even a rustic loaf of bread.
(For the first time, I was the first to cast a vote in a poll, so for a little while at least, I'm 100% in something.)

Barley is, arguably, the world's first cultivated grain.

We have a grain mill in town and they have a product called "plump soup barley" In the summer, I make cold salads, combining the barley with tomatoes, cukes, feta cheese, or olives, green onions, goat cheese, or any other combo that sounds good. I usually make a lemon vinaigrette or an Asian type. This time of year, I put it into soups, stews, or make it into a rice substitute. It is indeed very plump and has a lovely nutty flavor. I like adding pistachio nuts to it, as well.

I like barley. As well as throwing a handful into soups and stews, I sometimes use it as I would use rice - as a side serve, or made into a risotto-like dish or grainy salad. I think it is tasty, and has an interesting texture. For those who like to take such things into account, it is low GI.

Here's a recipe from one of the first cook books I bought, many many years ago when I first left home and began to learn cookery the hard way. It is from The Pauper's Cookbook, by Jocasta Innes (Penguin 1975 ... Jeez, I must be getting old...)

RCP: MUSHROOM KASHA
Half a pound of pearl barley
One ounce of dried mushrooms or quarter of a pound of fresh ones
One to two ounces of butter
Salt, pepper
Two tablespoons grated tasty cheese
One egg

Beat the egg and stir it into the barley so the grains are coated; leave to dry. Soak the dried mushrooms in one pint of warm salted water, then simmer them in the same water 15 minutes or until tender. If using fresh mushrooms, wipe and slice, then simmer in a pint of salted water for 15 minutes. Strain off the mushroom liquor, put the mushrooms aside, and return the cooking liquor to the pan. Put a lump of butter into the pan and simmer till melted; then add the barley, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Then transfer to a casserole dish with a lid. Mix in the mushrooms, season with salt & pepper. Cover; bake in a moderate oven for an hour. Before serving, stir in another lump of butter and the grated cheese.

I'm not a fan. I can't say I hate it, but I don't like it all that much. We have it once in a while because my wife likes it and I'll eat it then. But as grains go, it's near the bottom of my list.

[Robin Garr]

I'm fine with barley. I've always liked it, and Mary loves it. She most often uses it in soups, but I've played around with a few other things. Most notably, after a trip to Friuli-Venezia Giulia, I came home smitten with orzotto, the regional equivalent of risotto but made with barley grains. You don't see it much because it takes about three times as long to stir, but it's crazy good. I think I recall also coming up with a blend, in which I made a little orzotto and then started stirring in Arborio rice when it was about halfway done, to end up with ... risorzotto! (Finally, orzo pasta is so named because of its imagined resemblance to barley grains.)

It's a good thing, a hearty, warming grain dish that usually makes me think of winter.

I voted for rarely--just in soups and stews. That said, I LOVE the texture and nutty taste of barley, so perhaps this poll will be a wake-up call for me to try some barley-centric dishes.

I only rarely eat barley, usually in soups and stews. I much prefer drinking it in ale.

[Jenise]

Beat the egg and stir it into the barley so the grains are coated; leave to dry.

Interesting recipe, Matilda. I don't quite understand the egg step--what does this do for the final result?

[Jenise]

Most notably, after a trip to Friuli-Venezia Giulia, I came home smitten with orzotto, the regional equivalent of risotto but made with barley grains.

You know what, when I typed "barlotto" I was thinking "no it's orzotto" and then I convinced myself that would be with orzo and then I said to myself yeah but you've confused these before and the 'right' answer isn't the obvious one. I knew it was tricky, but I was too lazy just then to go look it up.

don't quite understand the egg step

The idea is that egg incorporates evenly into the 'sauce' and then is absorbed evenly. An alternative to stirring it in at some other stage. This is how the recipe was in the book. In fact, I didn't bother with the egg step after the first few times, and these days I don't bother to add this at all. Nor do I follow the recipe ... as with most things, I wing it.

My mother used to put it in Scotch Broth; her version which was awful. Then Julia Child came out with a great recipe, that we make up from time to time.

Scotch broth ... h'mmmm ... This is properly made with mutton, or these days, lamb. I can't abide either cooked into soups or stew. Especially mutton. I make a Scotch-broth-like soup based on beef stock, with plenty of barley in it. No doubt my late Scottish ex mother in law would turn in her grave. But boiled mutton or lamb just doesn't do it for me.

[Jenise]

My mother used to put it in Scotch Broth; her version which was awful. Then Julia Child came out with a great recipe, that we make up from time to time.

Campbell's puts barley in their Scotch Broth too, which as a child I loved and was all I knew of barley.

Love it...have a craving for it now.

[Jenise]

don't quite understand the egg step

The idea is that egg incorporates evenly into the 'sauce' and then is absorbed evenly. An alternative to stirring it in at some other stage. This is how the recipe was in the book. In fact, I didn't bother with the egg step after the first few times, and these days I don't bother to add this at all. Nor do I follow the recipe ... as with most things, I wing it.

Got it. Thanks for the explanation.

[Jenise]

Love it...have a craving for it now.

So what's your favorite prep? For me, I love the pairing of barley with green onions--for some reason, it's a perfect combination. So I sometimes make green onions orzottos, or toss cooked barley with oil, vinegar and green onions for a salad version. Either way, it soothes the same jones.

for the coming months in which I will have no kitchen but for a microwave and a toaster oven on a folding table.

Do you have items such as a crockpot, hot plate or electric skillet?

[Jenise]

for the coming months in which I will have no kitchen but for a microwave and a toaster oven on a folding table.

Do you have items such as a crockpot, hot plate or electric skillet?

I have an electric wok (for the sole purpose of making shabu shabu) and a crock pot. NEVER THOUGHT OF USING EITHER ONE. Until now--Linda, you're brilliant. Will have to go see if either one was packed into a place I can get to it!

These last 2 posts reminded me of the times when my father, a professional musician, was away on tour sometimes for as long as 2 months at a time. The joke was that the other musicians used to fight over rooming with him. He saved his per diem and cooked in the room. My mother was in charge of packing his one burner hot plate, one sauce pan, one sharp knife and eating utensils. He always left with a head of garlic and a small bottle of olive oil, a salt and pepper shaker. On longer tours when he had to pack a trunk he splurged with other items. He would shop after the rehearsal and cook before the concert eating much better than the other guys did trying to save money. Those conveniences will come in handy during the coming months.

About twenty years ago, I roomed with a friend for a few months. There was no stove--just a hole in the counter where it used to be. It broke, and he threw it away without replacing it--four years earlier! It was definitely awkward to cook. I used an electric wok and an electric skillet.

I also learned where to hide my more expensive food so he wouldn't eat all of it: under the veges in the crispers. Otherwise, I'd find a lone pickle floating in a jar that I had bought just the day before.