This was wonderfully filling, and very warming while being quite healthy. I completely recommend it for chilly nights when you want a lot of vegetables. It also has the advantage of being 100% interchangeable – any vegetables you have on hand or want to add will work beautifully.
I chose to add carrots and asparagus, but can easily imagine tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, or whatever else.
It was so easy to make, just a bit of pealing and chopping, and the rest is just letting the whole thing simmer.
Barley with Vegetables
4 cups water
2 vegetable bullion cubes
1 cup barley
4 large carrots, pealed and chopped
1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1. Bring water and vegetable bullion to a boil. You can also use 4 cups vegetable broth. Add Barley, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Total cook time is 45 minutes.
2. With 30 minutes of cooking time left, add carrot pieces to simmering barley. Stir in and cover again. Make sure it is still simmering.
3. With 3 minutes of cooking time left, add asparagus pieces. Stir and cover, ensuring a continued simmer.
4. Serve and enjoy!
That does sound good — and I have barley on hand still! Hmm….
Does it make a difference if you caramelize the vegetables first?
Beats me. I made this recipe up from the items I had on hand. It would certainly be interesting to try it.