Thank you… yes.
I picked some pearl barley up at Walmart. They were the only ones that were somewhat local to me that had it in stock. I had to ask a clerk for assistance in locating it. Luckily I had printed it out from the Walmart website, as the clerk had never heard of it.
I’m going to try to make a chicken and barley dish sometime this week.
I love barley and the main way I use it is in soups or pilaf. I make a ground beef, mushroom, and barley soup that’s great. Also in Scotch Broth as others have mentioned, as well as a ham, bean, and vegetable soup with potatoes, tomatoes, and barley for a textural contrast. Smoked paprika, garlic, onions, and bay leaves are the main seasonings/aromatics. So good, but definitely cold weather preps. For the pilafs, usually pair with mushrooms, maybe minced carrots & celery, and onions. The barley can be toasted in butter or olive oil for a nuttier flavor, but also good without the toasting first. Agree it’s also good in salads - it’s extremely versatile! My H brought home some instant barley from the store last time, because there was no pearled barley in the store. I do NOT recommend the instant! It’s not toothsome and gets too soft. Korean markets are a great place to find bulk, whole grain barley though. Good luck and let us know how you decide to use it.
I made a chicken and pearl barley dish, which both Sunshine and I enjoyed. I used cream of chicken soup as a base and topped with peas. YUMMY!!
Happy it turned out well for you! I forgot to say I also use it in turkey or chicken vegetable soup. When making pilaf, I use either beef or chicken broth for the liquid. It’s a versatile grain to use, for sure.
Thank you… yes, Sunshine remembers eating pearl barley in her youth, and talked about a vegetable soup her mother made with it. So that is next on the list to try.
Yes, when I cooked the pearl barley in the dish above; I cooked it in a thin chicken stock made from a Knorr powder.
I’m looking forward to experimenting with it in various dishes. Sunshine likes pearl barley better than rice, so it will make it into rotation.
Excellent - I think it’s an under-used grain!
Any chance she was cooking them with tomato products or something else acidic?
Good question, but it was long enough ago that I’m not 100% certain. I’m pretty sure she knew even back then not to add acids until later in the process. And her go-to black bean soup didn’t have tomatoes anyway - I do remember sort of arguing about that because I put tomatoes in just about everything but egg drop (slight exaggeration).
Turkey barley soup. One of my faves.
I irrationally love barley.
Romanian Pearl Barley Pudding.
