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| Lemon Barley Pilaf |
I cook a lot of brown rice and make pilafs often, so when I read over Dorie's recipe I decided to simplify it and cook the barley in a rice cooker like I do with most grains. I have used pearl barley before in soups and the texture is terrific, but I found I kept having to add more water to the barley because it was just too hard. Even fully saturated with 4 cups of broth/water to 1 cup of barley I found it to be too chewy. It reminded me of kasha which I do not love. I think the flavoring and the vegetable mixture is wonderful, and I will use these ingredients in a brown rice pilaf, but for myself and my family barley pilaf was not a hit. Here is my recipe for the pilaf based on Dori Greenspan's Lemon Barley Pilaf recipe. LEMON BARLEY PILAF by Diane Balch Ingredients: 1 cup of cooked pearl barley or other grain: rice or quinoa would work well. 4 cups of chicken broth 2 tablespoons of butter 1 bay leaf 1 carrot minced 1 red pepper minced 4 scallions minced salt and pepper to taste 1 lemon's zest Directions: 1) Cook grain according to directions in chicken broth with the bay leaf. If you are using pearl barley I recommend 4 cups of broth to 1 cup of barley. 2) Sauté vegetables in butter putting into skillet in this order: scallions, carrots, red pepper until they are limp. 3) When grain is done mix it with the vegetables and add the lemon zest. Makes a great side with chicken or fish. Note: As a member of French Friday's with Dorie I am not allowed to print the recipe. I invite you to take a look at this wonderful cookbook "Around My French Table" if you are interested in this or any other recipe I review.  |
