How to Cook Pearl Barley

The most effective method to cook pearl grain in a weight cooker

You can cook pearl barley in a pressure cooker. In this case, the cereal can be enriched with aromas, prepared dry or in broth. For example, you can put the grains in a fried vegetable, toasting them a little. Then water is added, in an amount equal to three times the weight of the barley. Closing the pot, it cooks for 15 minutes from the whistle of the valve. If you are craving a soupy soup, increase the amount of water by 4 times.

How to cook pearl barley in the oven

To cook pearl barley in the oven, the appliance must be preheated to 190 ° C. While the oven is heating up, bring 480 ml of water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour the barley into a ceramic or glass dish and then add the very hot liquid, taking care to mix everything. At this point add a touch of butter, salt and mix again. Cover the dish with its lid or aluminium foil. Put in the oven and let it cook for an hour.

How to cook pearl barley or spelt

Today we see together how to perfectly cook barley, or even spelt, two very similar kinds of cereal, even in taste. Spelt and barley, although they are very ancient cereals, have returned to our tables with a lot of diffusions only in recent times, rediscovered for their beneficial properties. Rich in fibre, they are cereals that rebalance the gastric system. They provide about 330 Kcal per 100 g of product, with a good portion of protein and very low-fat content. Being that they are also demineralizing, rich in phosphorus, potassium, calcium, it is recommended to include them in a balanced diet, alternating them with other cereals such as wheat, used for the production of pasta and bread, and rice. If we use wheat to make flour of all kinds, we prefer to cook rice in grain, and the same is done for spelt and barley, generally marketed in the description of pearl barley and pearl spelt, in this case, part of the fibres that cover the grain are eliminated, to make the grain not only more beautiful but also easier and faster to cook. Today we will cook pearl barley, the procedure is the same for pearl spelt.

Dose

• Difficulty: Very easy
• Cost: Very cheap
• Preparation time: 5 minutes
• Rest time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 20 minutes
• Portions: 4
• Cooking method: Boiling

Ingredients

• Pearl barley: 300G
• Water: to taste
• Salt: to taste
• Olive oil: 2 tbsp

Tools

• Pot

• Bowl

• Ladle

Preparation How to cook pearl barley or spelt

• Before cooking the pearl barley or spelt, we soak it for at least an hour in cold water. If it is not pearly, we can leave it to soak for 8 hours.
• After this time we wash it several times, in order to remove all the dirty water, thus we remove part of the starch, which leaves the grains well separated from each other after cooking.
• We put it in a bowl, to measure its volume. We transfer it to the pot, and cover it with 2 bowls of water, using the same bowl, for the same volume, but doubled, 2 bowls of water, 1 of spelt, it doesn't matter if we measure it before or after soaking it, in an hour does not grow that much, to be precise it is better to measure it earlier.
• We can put the water cold and bring it to a boil. We can add salt while cooking, or we will salt as needed. I always prepare a little more that I keep in the fridge, even for a week in a closed tray, and I season it as I want, adding salt at the end.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes until the water has dried, if there is very little left, turn off the flame and cover. In a few minutes, the water will be completely absorbed and the barley is ready.
• We add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix with a wooden ladle, so we detach the beans well and do not stick together. We can use it for all our recipes now, salads, soups, or keep it in the fridge tightly closed until the next time we feel like it, it keeps well for several days.