a winter barleyland

I call this Winter Barley.


I have no winter here, not really. It's downright warm in the daytime, and not even cold enough at night to warrant me getting the heater fixed.

But the leaves have fallen, and it's January (the coldest sounding month), and it's nice to make a big barley dish to last for leftovers and over and over.

The book I found this recipe in is called Super Natural Cooking. It was a gift from an enchanting lady, and I do love it.

Having said that. This cookbook is quite insane and doesn't make sense sometimes. In fact, I've made a few unforgettable disasters by following its instructions. I had to make a few revisions and additions to perfect this barley dish, and now I love it. It's a healthy alternative to risotto, and the bitter/sour/creamy flavors combine to startling perfection.


Chop up 3 cloves of garlic, 1 yellow onion, and 1 shallot.

In your biggest saucepan, heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Then add the garlic, onions, and shallots, and cook until the onions are soft. This is when your neighbor will super-naturally pop their head inside your door and say something like, "Something smells AMAZING!", cause garlic and onions have that magical affect when combined.

Next, add 2 cups pearled barley to the pan, and stir until it's all "glistening". I seriously hate that word, but it's very accurate in this case.

To that, add 1 cup dry white wine and simmer for a few minutes, until the little barls have absorbed the liquid. The whole mess should be at a gentle simmer.

Here comes the real challenge: one by one, add 6 cups of water to the pan, letting the barley absorb the liquid between cups. (The challenge is to remember how many cups you've poured in.) Make sure to stir it periodically, for reasons that should be obvious, but the cookbook explains for a paragraph. I will spare you. This should take about 40 minutes, and the barley will be chewy but soft when it's done.

While the water is slowly absorbing:

Zest 1 lemon.

Then, peel and segment 1 grapefruit or any citrus you enjoy. Cut up the segments and reserve the juice.

Chop up 2 or 3 big handfuls of arugula, possibly the most amazing leafy green in recorded, and even unrecorded history, I daresay.

AND, toast a cup of walnuts or pecans. I swear you'll have time.

When the barley is finally done, mix in the lemon zest, the citrus, the arugula, as well as 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream. I know creme fraiche sounds super fancy, but they sell it at Trader Joe's, so fear not.

I like to add 2 cups of shiitake mushrooms to this recipe, just saute them on the side and add.

It should look something like this:


Garnish with your toasted nuts (reserve some for garnishing leftovers, let's face it: soggy nuts are never fun) and enjoy!