Barley Paella

Barley has this wonderfully comforting chewiness which makes it an excellent substitute for starchy arborio or calaspara in either risottos or paella. It also carries the tag of being a super food, which helps obviate the guilt. Processed barley comes in two forms, hulled barley and pearl barley. Hulled barley retains the outer husk and while being rich in fiber has a chewy almost fibrous texture and extended cooking time that makes it a pain to cook with. The more processed form, pearl barley, has the outer husk removed, which makes it look like little white opals. While its less rich in fiber, it has a milder and more palatable flavour while retaining its super-food levels of selenium and protein. The mild flavour and chewy texture makes it an excellent substitute for short-grained rice or pasta or to add body to stews. 

Processed barley is almost always dried and packaged, and thus before cooking, the grains need to be soaked in plenty of water for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight. Once this is done, the cooking time reduces to 15-20 minutes from the 45 otherwise.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried pearl barley grains, pre-soaked for at least 6 hours
• 3-4 slices of chorizo or other cured sausage, chopped
• 1/2 green capsicum, thickly sliced
• 8-9 small prawns, cleaned and de-veined
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp saffron dust
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• chopped parsley or coriander to garnish
• 1 lemon half

Method

1. Heat the stock to boiling and then take it off the heat.
2. Add the saffron dust to the cup of warm water and leave it to infuse.
3. Heat the olive oil in a thick bottomed pan with a lid. Add the chopped chorizo/sausage, onion and garlic and sweat it down.
4. Drain the pearl barley grains and add it to the frying onions. Toss around to coat the grains with the oil and let it cook till the grains turn a little opaque.
5. Add the saffron infused water and stir around. Cook on high heat till the saffron water is absorbed by the grain. 
6. Add the tomatoes, capsicum and paprika and toss around. Add the warm stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cover with the lid.
7. Cook the grains on low and covered for at least 20 minutes. At 15 minutes, stir the grains and add the salt and prawns. Then cover and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
8. Once the liquid is absorbed take off the heat and leave aside, covered, to cool and meld together for 5 minutes.
9. Add the garnish and squeeze the lime over before serving.