Bean and Barley Salad with Preserved Lemon

1 cup dried Yellow Indian Woman beans from Rancho Gordo

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 cup barley (Trader Joe’s 10-Minute, or pearled, or hulled)

2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon

1/3 cup chopped green onion, white and pale green parts

About 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or arugula

Dressing:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons harissa paste

Salt and freshly ground pepper

To cook beans:

Pick over dried beans and rinse thoroughly in cold water.  Place cleaned beans in a bowl of fresh cold water, cover, and soak for 2 to 6 hours; drain and rinse well.  Cover beans with 2" of water, add onion, and simmer 1 or more hours, until beans are tender.  Add 2 teaspoons salt about 15 minutes before end of cooking time.  Alternatively, cook soaked beans in Instant Pot for 8 minutes, add salt, and simmer for 15 more minutes.  Drain beans.

To cook barley:

Combine 1 cup barley and 3 cups water or stock in a saucepan.  Add a generous pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Keep an eye on the pot to make sure it doesn't boil over.  When barley has reached a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until barley is done.  For Trader Joe's 10-minute barley, check at 10 minutes.  For pearl barley, check at 25 minutes.  For hulled barley, check at 40 minutes.  Barley is done when it has tripled in volume and is soft yet chewy.  Add more water if pan becomes dry before barley has finished cooking; check every 5 minutes until desired chewiness is reached.  Drain barley.

Combine beans and barley in a bowl with preserved lemons, green onions, and parsley or arugula.

Combine the olive oil with smashed garlic to infuse.  Mix together lemon juice, harissa, and salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in olive oil (garlic removed). 

Pour dressing over salad and toss.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Serve at room temperature.

Serves 4.

From Heirloom Beans by Steve Sando and Vanessa Barrington, with many changes (barley cooking instructions from thekitchn.com)

Mushroom-Barley Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms

1/4 cup sherry 

8 cups beef stock

1/2 cup pearl barley

2 teaspoons thyme leaves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Heat oil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, celery, carrots, and onion, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until mushrooms give off their liquid and it evaporates, about 14 minutes. Add sherry, and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add stock, barley, and thyme, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in juice and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

Serves 4 to 6.

From Saveur, with some changes

Cream of Barley Soup

1/3 cup barley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 large leek (about 1/4 pound), white part only, diced and rinsed
1 large carrot, grated
1 large garlic clove, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup sour cream (can be reduced-fat)

1/3 cup barley
1 leek, white part only, halved, then slivered lengthwise into pieces about 3 inches long
2 tablespoon butter
6 shiitake or other favorite mushrooms, thinly sliced

Cover 1/3 cup barley with hot water and set it aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a soup pot over medium heat until foaming.  Add the onion and oregano, give a stir, and cook for 5 minutes.  Then add the leek, carrot, and garlic.  Cook for 10 minutes more, by which time a glaze will have formed on the bottom of the pan.  Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Drain the 1/3 cup barley and add it to the pot along with the 6 cups water.  Cook until the barley is soft, about 30 minutes, then puree the soup with the sour cream until smooth.  Return the soup to the pot, taste for salt, and season with pepper.  If it is too thick for your taste, add extra water or stock.

Rinse the remaining 1/3 cup barley, put it in a saucepan, and cover generously with water.  Add a little salt and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.  Drain and keep warm.  Simmer the leek in salted water until tender; after 5 minutes or so, drain, and toss in a little butter.  Melt the remaining butter in a small skillet, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, and saute over medium-high heat until golden, about 5 minutes.  If the pan looks really dry, as it can with shiitake mushrooms, and 1/2 cup water and cook until the liquid is absorbed  and the mushrooms have browned.

Serve the soup with a spoonful or two of the cooked barley in each bowl, the leeks and mushrooms piled on top, and a final twist of the peppermill.


From Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison

Summer Barley, Tomato, and Basil Soup

1 cup barley
3 to 4 young leeks, cut into thin rounds
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 basket cherry tomatoes
1 bunch tender Swiss chard, leaves only, chopped
8 cups chicken stock
Sea salt
A handful of fresh basil leaves

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the barley and boil for 10 minutes.  Drain.

Saute the leeks in the olive oil in a soup pot until tender.  Add the whole cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, barley, and the chicken stock.  Season with salt to taste.

Cook at a lively simmer for 10 minutes or until Swiss chard is tender.

Before serving, adjust salt and sprinkle with a generous amount of chopped basil.

Serves 4.


From La Bella Cucina by Viana La Place