Barley Power

You don’t hear much about barley (except here, where I seem to write about it a lot).  It is similar in nutrition to quinoa, but not nearly as trendy.  I am heralding barley as the nutritional, grain underdog, Barley Power!  So far I’ve shown recipes for barley in soup, and I will again, but today we’re taking it out of the soup, and putting it on the side, or even main part of your plate.  You can cook barley like risotto, or like I have here, as a pilaf.  

Pilaf or pilau, originated in the near east.  It starts with browning, or toasting a grain in butter or oil, and then cooking it with stock, adding vegetables is optional.  In culinary school this was pretty much the only way we ever cooked rice the only exception being in Asian cooking.  I can make rice pilaf in my sleep.  You sauté onions then add rice, and sauté that until it gets fragrant, then add the hot stock (ratio of stock to rice 2:1) simmer for twenty minutes, and you have a lovely pilaf. You can make a pilaf suitable for any season, and at my house we like to toss in some frozen peas about five minutes before the pilaf is done all year round.

This rich winter pilaf is made with chicken stock, but feel free to make it vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock.  It’s a great side dish, but could make a fine main course.  You could finish it by baking it with cheese topping and broiling it for a richer dish. I garnished mine with sliced scallions.

Butternut Squash and Barley Pilaf

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Ingredients

• 1 Small Butternut Squash (about 2 Lbs, Peeled, seeded, and diced into 1/2)
• 1/2 Large Spanish Onion (About 8 Oz 1/2)
• 3 cloves Galric (Smashed)
• 1 Medium Apple (Peeled, cored and cut into 1/2)
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1/2 teaspoon Sage
• 1 cup Barley
• 3 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 3-4 Scallions (cut on bias for garnish)

Directions

Step 1

Heat oil in a 4 quart saucepan

Step 2

When oil is hot, lower heat to medium and add onion to pan, stir well, and saute for 2-3 minutes

Step 3

Add garlic to pan, saute for another minute

Step 4

Add apples to pan, saute another 2-3 minutes and add barley and squash, saute for another 3-4 minutes

Step 5

Add stock and bring to boil

Step 6

When stock is boiling lower heat to simmer, cover and simmer for one hour until barley is tender