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Breakfast Barley

Reprinted from The Splendid Table's How to East Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2008). Copyright 2008 by American Public Media.

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 30 min

Yield: Makes 3-1/2 to 4 cups

Keeps covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Barley is a tragically overlooked grain. Available in nearly every grocery store across the country it is the essence of simplicity --toothy, rustic nutty and delicious. In this version, you boil the barley as you would pasta, in a generous amount of salted boiling water. While we prefer it with a little bit of firmness, you can keep cooking it until it reaches the texture you prefer.

For breakfast serve it as you would oatmeal, warm with milk, cinnamon and nuts or as Sally prefers, mixed with a dollop of ricotta cheese and maple syrup.

Cook to Cook: Pearl barley is what you want for this recipe. It’s widely available and because the hull and most of the grain’s bran has been polished away, it cooks quickly.

Categories:
  • Beans
  • Breakfast
  • Eating Close to the Ground
  • Grains, Flours, Beans
  • Spring
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
Print
Ingredients
  • 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed and drained
  • 3 to 4 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
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Instructions
  • 1. Place the barley, water, and salt in 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes, until tender. If the barley starts to dry out before it’s fully cooked, simply add more water.
  • 2. Drain in a strainer. Serve hot or at room temperature. Barley reheats beautifully.
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About The Show

Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Host

In 1994, acclaimed food writer and cooking teacher Lynne Rossetto Kasper was receiving accolades for her debut book, The Splendid Table, which at that time was the only book to have won both the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook of the Year awards. Among the many people enchanted by the book was producer and foodie Sally Swift, who thought the time could be right for a radio program on food.

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