Mindless Barley
Like the title says, it’s mindless… and it’s straightforward, has a great texture, and is delicious – and you can make it in your rice cooker.
Barley in your Rice Cooker
2016-01-20 16:17:57
Serves 6
While pearl barley is no better for you fiber/wholegrain wise than white rice, it’s a fabulous alternative to other starches - especially with winter stews, braised short ribs, and hearty mushroom and squash dishes. (If you want that whole grain goodness go for whole grain barley - also called hull barley, pot barley, or look for brown, intact grains rather than the lighter, white kernels with a single brown line on one side - and increase both the recipe's water and cooking time.) This is optimized for my cheapo one-button 4 cup cooker: if you’ve got some fuzzy logic amazingness, you’ll have to guess a little 🙂
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 2 cups water (scant)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp oil (I like olive, but any oil will do depending on use and flavor preference - as will butter!)
Instructions
- Mix it all up in your rice cooker insert and turn it on! Someplace in the neighborhood of 40 minutes, your cooker will turn off and you’ll have chewy, delicious, nutty barley which doesn’t need draining. It’s not creamy like risotto, not dry, not soupy - just hearty, chewy, and perfectly done. It’s a great base for whatever wintery you’ve got to throw its way.
Notes
- Trader Joe’s makes a “10 minute barley!” which is pretty great, but requires a bit more attention at the stove (and doesn’t turn itself off ). Using the same product in a rice cooker makes it a wee bit longer but pretty awesomely hands-off. Don't worry too much about the time - a good cooker will know the difference and shut itself off after the right amount of liquid has been absorbed and evaporated.
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