I have discovered barley!!! I knew a bit about barley - for example that my British forebears added it to soups. But that was about all I knew. But now I know that it can be used hot and cold, for breakfast lunch and dinner - as a savoury dish or as a sweet. It can also be used as a "stomach filler" to stop me form eating too much . I precook a cup or more of dry pearl barley and after about an hour of boiling it, I strain it and put it in the fridge for use over the next few days. The liquid that I strain from it is kept and drunk as "barley water" - add a bit of citrus to it, maybe a little honey? or cinnamon ?. This morning I added a half cup of cooked barley to some rolled oats porridge - it adds an extra dimension of texture and flavour to porridge. It can replace rice in any dish - hot or cold - savoury or sweet. Add it to a cold salad or a hot curry - whiz up some fruit and a little yogurt in a blender and mix it into some cold barley as a sweet dish - or an afternoon snack ( which will fill your stomach so much that you won't eat too much at dinner)
I could go on and on
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Bazza1234
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Well done. I have tinned chick peas drained with some pepper and salt and a little curry powder as a snack with my drink, it is better than eating crisps etc
Barley broth is good for easing sore throats as it's slightly slimy, & gives watery soups a bit of texture. I don't eat meat now, but a traditional soup as a child was cock-a-leekie. I make lentil-a-leekie, now.
I use it in veg & lentil or bean soups for combining amino acids for balancing protein. I'm not too good with starchy foods, so a handful per litre is enough for me. It expands A LOT, learned the hard way after I used a whole half pound packet in a soup! It's handy to have as a cupboard staple as it's dried. I have used it for risotto when I've forgotten to buy rice, though it takes a bit longer to cook. It would probably make a nice rice pudding, too, with cream & nutmeg.
Beware barley if you have coeliac! If you're not sure if you have coeliac or wheat intolerance, avoid gluten for >3months, then eat a little barley. If your symptoms return, the issue is gluten, if you're ok with the barley, the issue is with wheat.
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Saturday night supper
Spinach and smoked salmon pancakes
