talk to me about pearl barley

[thesmartestgiantintown]

i brought some after seeing the fab price and that you can do allsorts with it. am planning on doing it like a risotto with prawns & veg, will this work? what else could i use it for? curries? chillies? or too weird? thanx

Peral barley is just perfect in casseroles and stews...it needs a bood one to one and a half hours cooking time though which is why it's perfect in the sort of one-pot casserole you might cook for ages. I've never used it for anything else...

Pearl....not peral!! Sorry!

Cook in stock I think 100g to 500ml and the pearl barely will absorb the flavour of the stock - then add other things to it, like a cous cous or rice salad style carb.

Or cook beef slowly cubed in the slow cooker with large chunks of carrot and a red wine and cornflour sytle gravy and add the pearl barely on day two then add more carrots on day three

great thanx everyone

After reading the Classics thread last month, I tried making risotto with it. Tip - pre-simmer for an hour. The stuff takes an aeon to soften. Once mostly cooked, it is a fab rice substitute in risotto, but the time on the hob sort of cancels out the '39p a pack' economy. Also, don't forget it and let it boil dry. I've 'ruined' one of DH's Le Creuset wanky pans doing that.

I make a pearl barley risotto where it is simmered in a mix of stock and apple juice - then you add parsley and parmesan etc. very nice with lamb.

yes it does take nearly an hour to soften!

Yes it's cheap because it is "unfashionable" and a bit forgotten about, but it can be delicious. I like the side dish idea candleshoe