Ingredient of the Week: Pearl Barley

Pearl Barley what is it? It's name gives it away as it is Barley that has had it's first two outer layers. These layers are the hull and the bran. While this does remove a large portion of the nutrition from the grain it still retains a good amount of it healthiness. It is very low in fat and is a good source of Carbohydrates and Fiber along with a nice bit of Iron. Pearl Barley is the most popular form of Barley is the US, but can also be found as flakes, flour(meal) and grits. In Japan Barley is used in the production of miso.

My first encounter with Pearl Barley was over 10 years ago when my wife (girlfriend at the time) made us Beef and Barley Soup. It is quite a wholesome, stick to your ribs kind of soup, perfect for a brisk winter day. I very much enjoyed it and have found recently that there are quite a few uses for Pearl Barley. It has a nice nutty flavor and chewy almost al dente texture. Great in soups, it will help to thicken the broth and can make that vegetable soup a lot more filling. Another great use is in salads or side dishes. You can use it like you would pasta in a salad or add it to greens or veggies. I like to pair it with grilled zucchini or roasted beets and Feta. Here is a little something that I cooked up for lunch the other day.

Making this is pretty simple and amounts really don't matter. It's all about personal preference and you can really use anything you have on hand.

• Take about a cup of Pearl Barley and cook it in plenty of salted water or stock (amount doesn't matter since you are going to drain it, just treat it like you are cooking pasta), should take about 10 minutes at a good simmer
• Drain all the liquid when the Barley is done and let cool to room temp
• Quarter 2-3 Zucchini season and then grill or saute till done, then chop into bit size pieces and add to Barley
• Dice some garlic and onion and saute in Olive Oil over Med heat
• Chop some Fresh Spinach (maybe 1/2 bunch or small bag) and toss it in, season with S&P
• When this is cooked through add it to the Barley
• Also add about 1/2 a can of drained and rinsed Garbonzo Beans (Chickapeas), 1 Chopped Bell pepper, and 1/2 a pack of Feta Cheese (Crumbled)
• Finally season with S&P and splash with a bit of Olive Oil and the Vinegar of your choice (I used Red Wine) and toss well
• Serve it up in some bowls and Enjoy!!

Ingredient of the Week: Cavelo Nero

So a couple of years ago we went on a trip to Italy for a couple of weeks. During our stay in Florence we were introduced to a very tasty ingredient called Cavelo Nero, which is also called Black Kale. It looks very similar to regular Kale but has a extremely dark green leaf that actually almost looks black when it is cooked. This is a winter green that is associated with the Tuscany region of Italy. I decided to take a cooking class at the place we were staying, Le Stanze di Sante Croce. Mariangela, the owner, took us on a trip to the local street market just a few minutes away to shop for the ingredients for our meal that evening. Seasonal cooking is very much a part of life in all parts of Italy. So in our attempt to stay true to this, we purchased some Cavelo Nero to make Bruschetta as the starter to out meal.

The preparation was very simple- blanch the leaves (thicker part of the stem removed) in a salted water with some olive oil. When tender drain, chop and top your bread slices, wallah! The way I do it at home is to blanch the cut Cavelo Nero then sauté with some garlic and oil in a pan (maybe add a few chili flakes if you are feeling adventurous). You can also add it to soups (like Winter Minestrone). Cavelo Nero is packed with Vitamins (like all dark green veg) and great flavor that is sure to enrich your winter time menus.

I had some mushrooms lying around so I added them to the Cavelo nero (Sautéed first then added the garlic then the Nero).