My Date with John Barleycorn.

As a mostly vegetarian/mostly vegan i eat a lot of grains. recently i've been finding that our selection was getting a little boring, mostly always wheat (wheat bread, wheat pasta) and rice. so i've been on a mission to explore and integrate other grains into our diet. 

Barley and barley drinks have long been a staple of both human and animal diets. One of the first domesticated grains in the near east, it's wild ancestor ranges from north africa and crete in the west to tibet in the east. 

The earliest evidence of domesticated barley occurs in pre-pottery neolithic B sites such as those in Syria. A staple of the both the Egyptian and Greek civilizations, where it was used to make beer, bread, porridge, soup, and as animal feed. Barley was also used in certain forms of divination, as currency at certain times, and as a base of the imperial measurement system (1 inch = 3 barleycorns)

By Roman times Barley had been largely replaced by wheat in most recipes, except in the making of beer, or as animal feed. In medieval Europe barley was considered to be peasant food, whereas the rich ate wheat, but by the 19th century barley in the european "peasant" diet had been almost entirely replaced by the potato. today Barley is the 4th most cultivated grain in the world. 

Barley contains 8 essential amino acids and contains gluten (so it's not for you celiacs). it is also an excellent source of niacin. in it's natural form it is covered in a thick inedible fibrous shell. once this shell has been removed it is called "hulled" or "pot" or "scotch" barley and it is still considered to be a whole grain as it still posses it's bran and germ. Pearl barley has been further processed with steam to remove the bran, and is polished through a process known as pearling. 

With it's history of cultivation in the middle-east it should be no surprise that Barley still figures prominently in many Assyrian, Arabic, Kurdish, and Persian dishes. in scotland barley is still used to make porridge, bannock, and other baked goods. The most common recipes to find barely in today are stews and soups. (thanks to wikipedia for all that info)

On that note, a few weeks ago i saw a salad that inspired me to take the leap and try cooking with barley.

Greek Barley and Watermelon Salad With Heirloom Tomatoes and Sheep's Milk Feta.

To make the Barley:

1 cup Pearl Barley (i used pearl because i cook everything for digestibility, if you have a stronger digestive system than me you could try simply hulled or pot barley as a more "whole grain" version of this salad).

2 cups of stock (i used vegetable stock).

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp salt 

Heat the stock til it is at a rolling boil. Add the barley, oil, and salt. return to boiling and then turn down to a gentle simmer. cover and cook for approximately 30 minutes. When done allow it to sit off of the heat covered in the pot for 10 minutes. if there is any extra water strain it. (mine ran out of water about 5 minutes shy of 30, i just turned it off and let it sit and it came out fine. you want it to maintain a bit of a crunch (or pop) not mushy like when you put it in soup. set it aside.

* if you are trying this with pot barley (Whole grain) you may want to research it's cooking time, as whole grains usually take longer to cook.

i made the full recipe for the barley but then i only used half of it in the end because it looked like a lot for just the two of us, and i didn't think the watermelon would last well in the salad in the fridge, so i halved the salad recipe. The recipe below has all the quantities i used. it makes a super hardy lunch for 2-3 people or more as a side dish. But if you are going to bring this to an event i would recommend using all the barley you cook and doubling the salad and dressing recipes below. 

The Salad:

Mix

1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters.

1 purple french shallot thinly sliced

1 cup diced cucumber 

1 cup cubed seedless watermelon (yellow or red)

chopped basil (go with your own instincts here, i like a lot of basil)

3-4 kalamata olives de-pitted and sliced (or do whole olives, your call)

a chunk of feta (more or less depending on what you like) 

1/2 of the cooked barley.

Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tbls olive oil

salt and pepper to taste.

(whisk all the ingredients until smooth and pour over salad.)

So i hope this will encourage some of you to try using barley as an alternative to rice or noodle, or potato salads this summer. next stop on my grain train, Quinoa.