When I did a rotation in my pantry last week I also found a jar of barley that hasn't been used in a few months. To pay my respect to this grain (I always feel guilty when I abandon some of my grains for more than two months) I made a very simple but aromatic and full of flavor soup.
With just a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, half a cup of barley and an onion my dinner was ready in less then an hour.
First, you need to pre-soak dried porcini for about 15-20 minutes. I usually wash any dried mushroom first from any debris, and after that I place mushrooms in a bawl and cover it with about 1 liter (1 qt) of cold water. Then I prepare all other ingredients: chop the onion, wash the barley.
Next, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the cast iron dutch oven or a stainless still pot.
Add the onion and stir, sprinkle with a little salt and stir again.
Fish the mushroom from the bawl and reserve the soaking water (It should have a reach amber color). Chop the mushrooms and add to the onions. Stir a few times and add water from the mushrooms.
To make sure there are no debris, I run soaking water through coffee filter placed inside the strainer.
Bring it to the boil, reduce the heat to a medium and cook until barley is done (about 30-35 minutes).
Season with salt, dried dill (optional) and serve with toasted bread (I made rosemary-garlic crostini from homemade rye bread). Can you smell it?!
Add the onion and stir, sprinkle with a little salt and stir again.
Fish the mushroom from the bawl and reserve the soaking water (It should have a reach amber color). Chop the mushrooms and add to the onions. Stir a few times and add water from the mushrooms.
To make sure there are no debris, I run soaking water through coffee filter placed inside the strainer.
Bring it to the boil, reduce the heat to a medium and cook until barley is done (about 30-35 minutes).
Season with salt, dried dill (optional) and serve with toasted bread (I made rosemary-garlic crostini from homemade rye bread). Can you smell it?!
I thought I made enough soup for us to have for dinner and for the next day's lunch. Silly me, thinking I would have some leftover! I could only hear crunch-slurp-crunch-slurp... until all soup was gone. We loved it, and to our surprise, the Teenager even made a comment, that we should have this soup more often!
I am making a list of grains in my pantry to print and stick it to my refrigerator. This way I may cook with grains not just whet I do the next rotation in the pantry, I think... :)
How often do you use your grains?
What grains do live in your pantry?
See you,
Marina
