creamy barley-sotto
Posted by Celine on May 27, 2007
serves 2:
1/2 cup pearl barley, uncooked
3 cups water, or vegetable broth, or a combination of the two
put water to boil in a large saucepan. clean barley in a fine-meshed strainer, add to boiling water, bring back to a boil, cover and let cook on low heat for 40 minutes. once cooked, set aside and let rest for 5 minutes. drain and rinse again, let drain completely.
1 pound green asparagus
juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 T shallot, chopped
1 T olive oil
clean and cut your asparagus in 1-inch slanted pieces.
heat oil in medium saucepan, add garlic and shallot once oil is hot. let cook for a couple of minutes, be careful not to let burn. throw in asparagus bits and let cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender. add lemon juice 5 minutes after starting cooking.
[cooking time will depend on the thickness of your asparagus: mine were medium, so be sure to check yours sooner than that if they are "skinnier".]
6 dry shiitake mushrooms [soak in warm water and let rehydrate for half an hour, drain and rinse, press out excess water lightly with your hands]
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
cut shrooms and tomatoes in slices.
in a large saucepan, add…
1 T olive oil
…and throw in barley, asparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes. add:
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t cracked black pepper [or normal ground pepper], or to taste
generous pinch of salt
1/2 t dry thyme
1/4 cup [liquid] plain soy creamer, like Silk
stir everything together, and let cook on medium heat until all liquids are mostly absorbed.
serve hot, with a few droplets of black truffle oil.
May 27, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Yum, I love barley! I’ve been wanting to buy some but my organic store seems to be out of it for weeks…
May 27, 2007 at 12:51 pm
I guess there’s a lot of barley lovers where you’re at! :D
May 28, 2007 at 4:21 am
this looks beautiful! it’s going to be a few more weeks before i have time for real cooking again, i fear, but this is going on my list.
May 28, 2007 at 4:56 am
can’t wait to see your new creations, TB!
July 13, 2007 at 1:00 pm
1 pound asparagus for 2? (I’m making this tomorrow) Isn’t that a bit too much?
July 13, 2007 at 1:09 pm
not if you love your veggies and work out a lot. ;p
July 14, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I don’t work out. I’m a lazy chubby girl. I’ll have 1/2 lb asparagus. :)
July 14, 2007 at 4:53 pm
How does asparagus help with working out anyway? ;)
July 14, 2007 at 5:02 pm
well any source of calories/energy gives you…energy. and bah, I’m sure you’re not chubby. and even if you are, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not a skinny minnie myself either.
July 14, 2007 at 8:13 pm
I’m so lame… I made it with more barley and less asparagus! :) We both loved it!!! Thanks for this healthy-yummy recipe. I LOVE your blog!
July 15, 2007 at 5:25 am
not lame! gotta love barley. which reminds me I need to buy some more soon, I’m all out.
thank you for trying this, it means a lot to me!!
March 20, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Years ago, barley was more creamy when cooked. Perhaps it was more starchy then. Now, it is hard, or has a “bite”, even after being cooked for hours. Then, it’s creaminess lent to a more homey vegetable barley soup with this different consistency. Are there varieties of barley? I’d like to find and use the old style barley that my mother used in her soup.
Thanks!