Barley is a cereal rich in nutritious properties and versatile in the kitchen. If you want to try it, here's how to use it in soups or salads
Cereal of very ancient origin, only recently thebarley has undermined rice a bit as an ingredient in first courses or single dishes. Always very used in Tyrolean and Friulian cuisine, demonstrates its versatility resulting excellent in soups, but also in salads or as a side dish.
For example, in the summer it goes well with cherry tomatoes and rocket, for a greedy and nutritious balanced salad. In the cold season, however, it is perfect in soups, preferably accompanied by spelled, millet or rice, to stock up on complex carbohydrates that help you feel full, sooner and longer.
Here are some tips for adding barley to your menu and making it a good habit.
How is pearl barley cooked?
Most popular quality, it can be cooked directly without first soaking it. However, remember to wash it thoroughly under cold running water to remove all sorts of impurities from the grain. You can consume it boiled, after boiling about 100 grams of barley in 300 ml of water for about 45 minutes. Or it's good too toasted, exactly as you do with rice, when cooking risotto. In a saucepan, sauté the vegetables, then add the barley and gradually add a few ladles of hot broth: and here's to youbarley.
How is hulled barley cooked?
This type of barley needs soak from 6 to 12 hours, before being cooked. Before moving on to the recipe, also remember to boil it for about an hour, always respecting the proportion 1: 3, or 3 parts of water for each part of barley.
How is whole barley cooked?
Whole barley has darker grains and a more intense flavor, since it does not undergo any type of refining. For this reason, before being cooked, it must be put in soaking in fresh water for 24 hours, then boiled for about 90 minutes, always observing the ratio 1: 3. It's perfect for soups and broths.
How do you cook barley soup?
There soup is the comfort food par excellence of the cold seasons. Have you ever tried barley soup? You can prepare it with beans or lentils, or with mushrooms is potatoes. The procedure is the same for both: after having sautéed a little garlic in a saucepan, add the legumes or mushrooms, previously pre-cooked, then the barley and finally the vegetable broth. If you want to make it really complete and substantial, almost a single dish, add some speck diced, del toasted bread diced and a little rosemary, to give it an unmistakable aromatic scent.
How is barley cooked with vegetables?
Barley goes perfectly with vegetables. Have you ever tried for example i tomatoes or i stuffed peppers barley? After boiling the barley, empty the tomatoes or peppers of their content, then create a dough based on barley, spreadable cheese and chopped olives, fill the tomatoes and here is a tasty dish, which can work both as an appetizer and as a main course .
Unique dishes with barley
With barley we can also make a rich and complete single dish. Do you want some ideas? There are, for example, salads: you can add a little corn, cherry tomatoes or mozzarella to your boiled barley. Or rocket and cherry tomatoes, if you are a vegetarian. Try it with barley with curry chicken or with barley and turkey with lemon.
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