Breakfast Barley

Submitted by Chef Sunshine

"This fragrant porridge cooks for about an hour unless you use quick barley. Make a whole batch and eat it over several days. The soluble fiber in barley has a very low glycemic index and has been shown to lower cholesterol. It is a delicious change from oatmeal."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Serves: 3

ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1⁄2 cup pearl barley, rinsed and drained
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cups apple cider or 2 cups unsweetened apple juice
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

directions

1. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the barley and the cinnamon stick. Cook slowly over low heat for about 45 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the lemon juice, apple cider and raisins, if you are using them.
3. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the barley is thick, about 30 more minutes.
4. Serve with milk or soy milk or eat plain.

Reviews

[smagdars]

Absolutely loved this recipe! I am always looking for new ways to cook barley, because it is so good for you. I agree with others, only 1/2 cup of raisins are needed...that's plenty. I didn't have a cinnamon stick, so I used ground cinnamon instead. Also, you really need to cook this uncovered.

 

[allisinium]

Awesome! This is so good. I made mine with 1/2c dates (1c sounded like a lot). I had no apple juice, so I used mostly water then added some unsweetened applesauce. Still turned out delicious. I'll be making this again soon. I love oatmeal and barley too, so this was the perfect marriage of both. Yum. Next time I'll try it in my slow cooker.

 

[Good Vibe Goddess]

I wanted a change from oatmeal. I used 1/2 tbsp cinnamon rather than a stick. I used a mix of raisins and dried cranberries. My barley seemed to taker closer to 2 hours to cook. My barley never got very soft and though the flavor deserves 5 stars the texture really bothered me.

 

[LumpyPumpy]

Tried this with half the raisins, liked it way better.

 

[vrram00]

Very impressive. Used regular apple juice and 1/2 t of cinnamon. Add 1 Splenda pkt to individual serving and loved it.