Soak barley for garnish for 6-12 hours, rinse and cook for 1 hour.
How to cook barley for a side dish
Products on 2 servings
Pearl barley – 1 glass
Water – from 4 glasses
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Butter, herbs – to taste
Simple barley garnish
How to cook: for a friable side dish, soak the pearl barley in cold water for 6-12 hours, pour into a large amount of cold water and cook after boiling for 45-90 minutes, depending on the variety. When cooking, pearl barley gives off a lot of foam, so cover the pearl barley with a lid only slightly so that the foam does not boil off onto the stove. Watch the water level – the side dish can burn if there is too little water.
Check readiness: take a few grains with a spoon, cool and taste. The pearl barley should be absolutely soft, not grainy. The taste of barley should be delicate, without metallic notes.
Add garnish: After boiling the barley, a little water usually remains at the bottom of the pan, it must be drained. Put a piece of butter in the barley, chop the herbs, add salt if necessary, mix, cover, wrap with a towel and leave for 20 minutes.
Delicious facts
Ordinary packaged barley and sold by weight must be soaked so that the garnish is crumbly and the grains are completely boiled. If the barley is not soaked, the grits will taste rougher, and after consumption the stomach may hurt. The only cereal that you do not need to soak is in special cooking bags, such barley is processed with steam before packing.
Even just cooked barley is a great option for serving meat, poultry and fish. Barley has a very simple taste, so it goes well with fatty meat, fried chicken, fish baked in sauce.
Serve the barley garnish to the weakened or tired – it is great for relieving fatigue.
To make the side dish dietary, cook the barley in kefir. For a more nutritious side dish when cooking, you can use chicken broth instead of water.
Unusual serving of barley garnish – with pomegranate seeds, almonds, lemon zest.
Barley with mushrooms is either a hearty side dish or a complete dish for those who are fasting.
Barley garnish with carrots and onions
Products on 2 servings
Pearl barley – 1/2 cup
Carrots – 1 piece
Onion – 1 onion
Tomato – 1 piece
Water – 2,5 glasses
Butter – cube 30 grams
Salt and pepper to taste
How to cook barley to garnish
1. Rinse half a glass of pearl barley, soak in water, put in a small saucepan, add 3 glasses of water, put on high heat, bring to a boil.
2. After boiling, reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and cook the cereals for 45 minutes, watching the level of foam and water: barley, even if there is a little water at the bottom of the pan, starts to burn, so check its level periodically and stir.
3. After boiling, if there is any water left, drain it, add butter to the barley and leave to infuse while cooking the rest of the side dish.
4. Pour 2,5 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a deep frying pan.
5. Peel the onion, chop finely and fry in vegetable oil for 3 minutes.
6. Peel the carrots, chop finely and fry together with the onion for another 5 minutes.
7. Peel the tomato, cut into small cubes and add to the carrots and onions, mix.
8. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
9. Add cooked pearl barley to the pan with vegetables, mix everything, salt and pepper.
10. Simmer covered for another 5 minutes.