Barley Pilaf
3 cup stock (plus more for sauteing the vegs)
1 cup pearled barley
3 scallions, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt (may be omitted or reduced)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the stock to boiling over high heat. Add the barley, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 50 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.
2. In a medium skillet, heat a few tbs. of stock over medium heat. Add the scallion and celery and cook until the celery is crisp-tender, 5-6 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook unitl the vegetables are soft and most of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir the cooked vegetables into the barley. Mix well. Serve hot or cold.
5 servings, refrigerates well (makes a great lunch salad).
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This was good. I wanted to use the barley I've had sitting in my cabinet for months and this seemed pretty easy. I followed the recipe exactly and it was a little bland, so I added some garlic powder and cumin and threw in some frozen peas at the end.
I chose to use celery, which I usually omit, but I was feeling adventurous....bad decision....I still hate celery and it kinda ruined it for me. But I am going to have some leftovers for lunch, so hopefully it be a little better.
i didn't really like this, i found it much too bland.
i added about teaspoon of dried thyme, tablespoon of vingar and much more salt.
Even better the next day. A great recipe for when you find forgotten barley in the back of the pantry ;D
I stirred in cubed tofu (1/2 inch) that I lightly sauteed w/ olive oil, garlic, and soy sauce. I also added garlic to main part of the recipe. Yummmm. Can someone tell me how to identify the different types of barley? It didn't say on the package. Thanks!