I’ve touched on my love of barley before. It’s wonderful in combination with brown rice or beef (as the ubiquitous beef and barley soup is wont to attest.) I’ll be the first to admit that like most Americans, I hadn’t had much exposure to this wonderful grain except in soups, but I’m doing my level best to find ways to introduce it to as many people as possible.

So far, I haven’t had anyone turn their nose up at it.

The following recipe is perfect as a side dish for anything with a lot of body, from beef to grilled mushrooms. (I made it as a side for beef, but it’s not often I have something up that our vegetarian friends can enjoy as well. Something I’m hoping to remedy as time goes by.)

Ingredients:

1 cup Mushroom or Vegetable Broth
1¼ cup water
¾ cup brown rice
¼ cup pearled barley
2 tbsp onion flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Bring all ingredients to a boil over medium high heat. Stir once, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 40-50 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve.

What I would have done differently had I thought about it at the time:

This was very good. It had a great tooth to it, and and immensely satisfying flavor.

I think it could have been much better if I’d sautéed real onions instead of using flakes, but it’s a tight week and I’m trying to hold on to what I have in the larder. Other than that, fantastic!