Spanish style barley

I have a great love of barley. It started a year or so ago when I first picked up a bag and thought I’d give it a try. At the time the scope of my grain cooking was more or less restricted to rice with the occasional inclusion of quinoa.

I had found this recipe on BBC Good Food for creamy pea and chive risotto made with pearl barley. I was initially drawn to it because it seemed like a far less labour intensive version of a risotto without the constant stirring required of conventional rice based risotto. When I tried the recipe though, it was love at first bite.

Barley is one of those things that’s always kind of around, but that I would only really have considered in terms of soup. But when you have barley just for barley’s sake it’s fantastic, and can seriously hold its own. I love its hefty chewy texture, plus the nutty kind of flavour make it a tasty and filling base for a meal. It also boasts some fantastic health benefits. It’s filled with manganese and tryptophan to help you feel energized and happy, loaded with phosphorus which promotes cell regeneration, is high in iron, and its beta-glucans beat out even oats for their ability to stabilize blood sugar levels. Many health experts promote barley as a perfect breakfast food.

I have mostly been using pearl barley, simply because it’s more readily available here, but I’m thinking of ordering some pot barley soon to compare. The difference between the two types is the amount of time they’ve spent in the “pearling machine”- the machine which removes the inedible husks from the unprocessed grain. Pot barley spends the shorter time in the machine, and so has its bran intact, where as pearl barley has spent longer in the machine and the bran is removed. However, pearl barley is still an immensely healthy choice, more so than many other grains.

I have a friend who’s from Spain. She’s fiery and glamorous and strong and I just love her. We met in Vancouver when we were both living there, and got up to all kinds of adventures together. She had me over for dinner one evening and one of the things that she served was Spanish rice. It was delicious, and tremendously impressive to me as I didn’t cook at the time. That dish has always stayed with me. So when I started cooking with barley I wanted to see if I could come up with a barley based version of the dish. It works beautifully. The sharp tomatoes and smoky paprika complement the barley beautifully. This would be a lovely accompaniment for fish or would probably be lovely with chicken added to it. My favourite way to serve it is with some steamed kale and creamy scrambled egg. It’s lovely and makes a minimal effort and really satisfying meal packed with flavour. It would be delicious with some hot peppers or fiery chillies added too.

Apparantly this weekend in Southern England they’re expecting a weather phenomenon that they’re calling a ‘Spanish Plume’. The weather’s going to be hot and muggy and tempestuous. Though we are not going to experience the ‘Spanish Plume’ here in Shetland, I figured it would be the perfect time for some Spanish style barley! So as I nod to strange English weather, and as a tribute to my beautiful friend in Spain, here it is…

Spanish style barley

2015-08-22 04:39:07

A hearty, healthy dish of pearl barley cooked Spanish style in rich tomatoes, and smoky paprika.

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Ingredients

1. 200g pearl barley
2. 1 Tbsp oil
3. 1 brown onion, chopped
4. 2 cloves of garlic, crushed with a bit of salt
5. 700mL vegetable stock
6. 400g chopped tomatoes
7. 1 tsp smoked paprika
8. Salt and pepper to taste
9. Parsley or chives, chopped, to serve

Instructions

1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened and beginning to brown slightly, about 10 or 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the stock and set aside somewhere that it will stay hot.
3. Add the garlic to the onion and continue to cook for a further minute.
4. Add the barley to the pot and allow it to sizzle, stirring occasionally, for five minutes.
5. Stir in the tomatoes, paprika, and 500 ml of the stock. Cover, bring to the boil and lower the temperature to allow it to simmer briskly. Allow it to simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more of the stock as it’s absorbed. The barley will be ready when it’s tender and chewy, and still a bit saucy. Season to taste and stir in half of the chopped herbs. Sprinkle over the chopped herbs and serve.

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