Barley - the Beginner's Grain

By Dana McMahan FoodConnect Louisville dana@foodconnect.com Barley - the Beginner's Grain Like many people, I am on the lookout for ways to improve my diet. I have an unfortunate love affair with white flour in all its forms – baguettes, pasta and pizza make up more of my diet than I’d care to admit. One of my favorite foods is risotto. The creamy Arborio rice makes for such a rich, voluptuous dinner that I close my eyes to the nutritionally devoid nature of the meal and just dig in. I’ve renewed my desire to incorporate more whole grains into my diet recently, spurred into action by the move to my winter wardrobe which seems a little snugger than last year. It’s cheaper to eat better than to buy a new set of pants one size up. Enter pearl barley. Not technically a whole grain, because it has been processed to some degree, pearl barley is a great beginner’s grain. It still packs six grams of fiber per 1-cup serving cooked, compared to zero in the white Arborio rice in my usual risotto. But what’s the tradeoff? It takes longer to cook. I’m talking an hour vs 2/ to 25 minutes. And admittedly, it is chewier than Arborio. But look at that as a positive. You can’t wolf it down as fast, meaning it’s harder to overeat. It also has a nice nutty flavor, and stands up well to bold earthy additions like the mushrooms and mustard greens I added to my dish. My real answer though, came from my husband. He who chooses Cocoa Pebbles over my oatmeal for breakfast any day of the week commented after dinner that he wants to switch to pearl barley for risotto from now on. For my first pearl barley risotto, I turned to a recipe on Serious Eats. I used mustard greens instead of spinach because that’s what I received in my farm share that week, and crème fraiche instead of mascarpone because that’s what I happened to have, but otherwise followed it to the letter. Get the recipe.