Helen RandellPearl Barley Stew
September 17th 2010 01:31
Pearl barley is a new ingredient in our household. I have eaten it before in restaurants, and have often seen it used on cooking shows to make risotto or stew, but I’ve never really had a reason to give it a go at home. All this changed when I was flicking through a magazine on a cold and dreary weekend and spied this recipe for chicken and porcini barely stew.
It looked warm and comforting, as well as wholesome and healthy. Setting out with a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, sliced chicken thigh fillets and my pearl barley, I was ready to take this one on.
The results were good with many different textures, but I found the flavour to be a little bland – even with my home made chicken stock. I think perhaps next time I’ll chuck in a few more flavours at the beginning, such as chopped carrot and celery, to bump up the nutritional content as well as adding a bit more colour. Overall though I was pretty happy with the outcome – perfect food for sitting around the fire on a wintery day!
Chicken, porcini and barley stew (from Australian Good Food, Aug 2010)
30g dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbs oil
500g chicken thigh cut into strips
2 onions, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup pearl barley
3 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
1. Cover porcini mushrooms with boiling water and soak for five minutes, until softened.
2. Heat half the oil in a large pan and cook chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes, until browned. Remove from pan and set aside. Heat remaining oil and cook onions until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. Return chicken to pan. Add barley, stock, porcini and soaking liquid. Bring to the boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until barley is tender. Scatter over parsley and ladle into bowls.
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Comment by Lara M
Love Speaks
Food Slate
I often use barley in my recipes – it's a great and versatile ingredient; I tend to get a tad creative with it
Comment by Helen Randell
Rough Cooking
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
The ingredients have my mouth watering. Mmmmmmmmmmmm porcini