How tasty to cook pearl barley for garnish?
Pearl barley - a very useful product, but with a specific taste.If you break the rules of its preparation, the taste of the final dish is very disappointing. That is why you should pay attention to cooking such cereals.
Choice of cereals
The pips must be even and neat, free from impurities of pebbles, spoiled seeds and other debris. It is important that the shade matches the brownish-golden color and is uniform, without specks or any impurities. One should also avoid glued grains, since such a situation only occurs when the product has been stored in the wrong conditions. In the case when the croup is taken not packaged, you should smell the kernels, and if there is some third-party smell, it is better to postpone the purchase.
When barley is purchased in a package, preference should be given to boxes made of cardboard. If you take cellophane, it is worth remembering that in the microclimate that has arisen, the nucleoli begin to release moisture, and this is bad for the condition of the cereal. Therefore, droplets of liquid from the inside on the walls should serve as a stop signal. The presence of dark copies indicates expired.
For the preparation of pearl barley as a garnish, it is recommended to still take small grits.
Proportions and cooking times
The amount of cereals and water used depends on the consistency required. If the barley should be crumbly and intended to garnish to the meat product, it is recommended to fill one cup of grains with 600 milliliters of drinking water. In the case when the barley is an independent dish and it is required that its consistency be more dense and even viscous, then it is worthwhile to increase the amount of liquid to one liter.
It is also necessary to mention that the preparation of loose porridge requires the use of boiling water, and the grits, boiling together with cold water, will be more viscous.
How to soak the grain?
Selected cereals first thing you need to rinse with cold water. This is done until the liquid used is completely transparent, and until that moment the dirty water is drained and the clean water is poured again. Rinse the grits need, gently turning the grains with your fingers. Then the barley will have to soak - this process will speed up further processing. There are two main ways how this is done.
- In the first case a glass of cereal is poured with a liter of fresh yogurt or plain cold water. Since the grains take up to twelve hours to absorb the maximum amount of moisture and swell, it is most reasonable to do this in the evening before going to bed, and in the morning bring it to the final.
- In the second case a glass of cereal is laid out in a thermos and filled with a liter of hot water. The lid closes and the croup is left overnight. The swollen barley can be cooked in just ten minutes, which is the easiest way to cook this dish.
Cooking recipes
Properly cook the pearl barley on the side dish is sure to follow the instructions step by step. The simplest method would require a glass of cereal, 600 milliliters of plain water, salt and butter. As a rule, the preparation will take no more than an hour. The grits prepared from the evening are washed once more, while water is boiling on the stove. Barley is poured into a saucepan, and at the same time there is added a piece of oil.
It will take about an hour to cook the dish under the lid closed. From time to time, the mass is mixed, and at the end of the process it is salted and flavored with another piece of butter. Serve pearl barley porridge with fresh or steamed vegetables.
Without soaking
If there is no extra time for culinary experiments, you can quickly boil delicious barley without soaking. In addition to 400 grams of cereals, it will be necessary to prepare one liter of drinking water, butter and salt. Preparing the dish will be longer than usual - one and a half hours. Washed cereal is put on the stove, brought to a boil and cooked for forty-five to sixty-five minutes.From time to time grub need to stir. The resulting dish salted, supplemented with oil and infused under a towel for about a quarter of an hour.
Porridge from portion bags
Although the most common way to cook crumbly porridge in a saucepan, cook it will turn out delicious in other ways. For example, purchased portioned cereal bags are popular. They do not need to be washed or soaked - just pour water into the pan, salt it, put it on the fire and put the bags there. Forty-five minutes is usually enough to complete the cooking. The finished bag is carefully opened according to the instructions, the porridge is laid out on saucers and supplemented with oil.
In a thermos
It is useful and such a simple device, like a thermos. In this case, 200 grams of cereal will supplement a liter of water, oil and salt. First, a little boiling water is poured into a thermos for heating, after boiling water can be drained. Then a boiler is placed inside, water is poured with salt, and the grain is poured out. The heating device is plugged in. It is necessary to wait until the water boils, then turn off the boiler and close the lid tightly.
The pearl barley should be infused for almost seven hours, so it is better to perform the procedure in the evening, and in the morning to enjoy breakfast with butter pudding.
On milk
By the way, barley porridge is brewed in milk. In addition to two glasses of liquid, 200 grams of cereals, 30 grams of oil and a little salt are useful. First, the rump will need to be thoroughly washed and pour for twelve hours. Then the kernels are washed once more and laid out in the milk boiling on the fire. The pot is placed in a water bath, closed, and left on low heat for six hours. Serving milk barley is better with something sweet, such as honey and dried fruit.
With vegetables
Barley porridge is perfectly combined with various vegetables, even the simplest ones, such as potatoes and onions. Grain in the amount of 200 grams is supplemented with 300 grams of potatoes, two onions, a teaspoon of salt and vegetable oil. Grains are boiled by conventional technology in water with the addition of salt.
At this time, the chopped onion is lightly fried in hot oil until the color changes to golden. Cut into cubes or grated potatoes laid out to the onions and salted. Over low heat, the vegetables will need to be cooked until softened. Barley mixed with vegetables, and for half an hour infused under the lid.
An equivalent substitute for potatoes can be a carrot, especially since the combination of this root with an onion can always be found in the refrigerator. In addition to a glass of cereal, you will need to use two carrots, two onions, five glasses of drinking water, butter and vegetable oil, and two tomatoes.
The cereal is poured with cold water and put on the fire, where it will boil until forty-five minutes has passed. Then it will be possible to drain the excess liquid, and oil the porridge. At this point, the vegetables are diced and cooked one by one in a frying pan. A total of such heat treatment will take ten minutes. All the ingredients are combined in one container, salted, seasoned with spices, and kept for about five minutes under the lid.
With fish
Although it is customary to combine barley with meat, with fish it will also be a very pleasant combination.
To prepare the dish is useful:
- can of tuna in oil;
- one onion;
- one squash;
- one carrot;
- a glass of cereal;
- spice;
- three cloves of garlic;
- vegetable oil.
Porridge is boiled so that it becomes crumbly and soft, and then washed. Vegetables are very finely chopped and gradually fried in a skillet. Then the porridge and the entire contents of the tuna can is put in the same container. The total mass is mixed, salted, seasoned with spices and stewed for about five minutes.
With peas
Quickly and easily prepared barley with canned green peas.In addition to one can of peas, the cook will need two glasses of cereal, two carrots, one onion, spices and oil. After the cereal is prepared properly, it needs about ten minutes to fry in a pan without oil. On the other, onion cubes and grated carrots are being prepared. In a pot with thick walls and the bottom are laid out all the vegetables, including peas.
Immediately put spices, and grits on top. The tank is filled with freshly boiled water so that there is two centimeters between the level of the liquid and the level of barley. For a couple of minutes, the food boils on the maximum fire, after which it is reduced to the minimum. Cover with a lid, the garnish should be allowed to boil over a minimum of about an hour.
With tomato sauce
Barley porridge with tomato sauce is considered a real delicacy.
For its preparation will require:
- 200 grams of cereal;
- 380 grams of tomatoes;
- 50 grams of tomato paste;
- 600 milliliters of water;
- 5 grams of salt;
- several basil leaves.
Washed cereal cooked on low heat for about forty-five minutes. At this time, the peel is removed from the tomatoes, and they are cut into cubes. By the way, to simplify this process, you can pour boiling water over vegetables.
Barley is mixed with pasta and tomatoes and poured with 100 milliliters of water. Everything is brought to a boil, salted and boiled for about five minutes. At the final stage, the porridge should be covered with a lid and let it brew for a third of an hour under a thick towel.
Basil is added to the dish before serving.
With mushrooms
Of course, you can not ignore such a combination as barley and mushrooms. The list of ingredients includes:
- 250 grams of cereal;
- litere of water;
- 200 grams of canned mushrooms;
- garlic clove;
- half a lime and lemon;
- 150 grams of tomatoes;
- celery stalk;
- half a teaspoon of sugar;
- oil and salt.
First, tomatoes, on which a cross is cut with a knife, are sent to boiling water for about forty seconds. Then they get and clean in cold water. Peel is removed from lemon and lime, and it is crushed together with garlic in a blender. Spices and a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil are added to the mixture, after which everything is mixed again using an auxiliary device.
Peeled tomatoes are mixed with the sauce and removed for half an hour in the oven, preheated to 150 degrees. At this time, you can do boiling pearl barley by the traditional method and roasting finely chopped celery. Groats and mushrooms are laid out in a frying pan with celery, the ingredients are mixed, filled with 50 milliliters of water and stewed for about five minutes. Ready-made barley is served with a mixture of sauce and tomatoes.
A great idea would be to sprinkle all fresh basil.
With meat
We should not forget about the classic combination of porridge and meat. Approximately half a kilo of pork or chicken will be supplemented with a glass of cereal, onion, one carrot, seasonings, including bay leaf, and oil. Barley is boiled in three glasses of salted water over low heat for almost an hour. The meat is fried for about five minutes in a skillet, then crushed onions and carrots are added to it. Pour the mixture with water, you will need to extinguish it for about an hour and a half on low heat. Then seasonings and cereals are also added, and everything is cooked on the stove for about fifteen minutes.
The finished dish is sprinkled with chopped greens.
In the slow cooker
It should be clarified that the preparation of this dish in a slow cooker has some peculiarities. Ingredients include about 200 grams of cereals, 500 milliliters of water, half a teaspoon of salt and 25 grams of butter. Purified and pre-soaked croup is laid out in the multicooker bowl. It is filled with salt water and the required amount of time is prepared in the porridge program. When the timer sounds, you can add butter to the barley and hold it on it for about fifteen minutes.
How to cook pearl barley for garnish, see below.