Barley with meat in a frying pan. Barley with meat

Traditional pilaf is considered a universal dish, rightfully popular almost everywhere. Typically, rice cereal, meat and vegetables are used to prepare it. But, in addition to the usual pilaf made from rice, there are also a huge number of recipes for this beloved dish. Pearl barley pilaf can be an equally tasty, and even more healthy option. Using simple culinary recipes, you can prepare an amazingly tasty and satisfying pilaf with barley, which will be a worthy alternative to the boring classics.

Tips for preparing pearl barley dishes

Pre-soaking pearl barley in cold water (from several hours to half a day) will help to achieve excellent results and preserve all the beneficial properties.
After soaking, it is necessary to drain the cloudy liquid and rinse the cereal in clean running water.
To ensure that the grains do not stick together and the dish turns out crumbly and aromatic, fry the raw grains in the oven before cooking.
Barley perfectly absorbs all the aromas and tastes of spices, herbs and vegetables, so add seasonings carefully.

We suggest diversifying the menu and trying to prepare traditional barley pilaf using several recipes. You can make a tasty and satisfying dish with meat, poultry, mushrooms, vegetables and even dried fruits.

Recipe 8: pearl barley porridge with vegetables - side dish

An inexpensive and easy-to-prepare side dish of barley, if you diversify it with different vegetables, it can well serve as an independent dish. Pearl barley, from which all kinds of dishes are prepared, is a product available even in times of commodity shortage.

A delicious side dish of pearl barley is easy to prepare, but takes a long time. Pearl barley cooks for more than an hour, and swells well, but the grains hold their shape perfectly. But the egg becomes very viscous when cooked. Therefore, an acceptable side dish of pearl barley can only be prepared from whole grains. A delicious side dish of pearl barley goes well with almost any meat or fish dish, chicken, or can be an excellent vegetarian dish.

Pearl barley 2 pcs
Onion 1 piece
Large carrots 2 tbsp.
Vegetable oil
Salt or soy sauce, black pepper, dill and parsley

If you look closely at pearl barley, you will see that it is very similar to wheat and is often confused with it. The removed top layer (hull) of barley makes the surface of the pearl barley very similar to the smooth grain of wheat. In addition, pearl barley of different grain sizes and different degrees of purification is available on sale. I prefer pearl barley to be large and light-colored without any signs of remaining shells.

Actually, dry pearl barley cooks well. But I prefer to soak it for 2-3 hours in cold water, rinsing it in running water until the signs of turbidity disappear. In addition, artifacts are often found in cereals - remains of shells, pebbles, etc.

Rinse the soaked pearl barley again with cold water, pour it into a saucepan and add 2 liters of cold water. Place the pan on the fire, bring the water to a boil and cook the barley, covered, over low heat for at least an hour. The pearl barley should become soft inside and increase in volume - swell. Place the boiled pearl barley in a colander and allow the liquid to drain as much as possible. The pearl barley garnish should not be wet or sticky.

By and large, if you know how, you can cook crumbly pearl barley in a measured amount of water, which will be completely absorbed by the cereal. But, as a rule, few can do this with confidence, so it is more convenient to cook barley in a large amount of water, it is simply impossible to make a mistake. Boiling the cereal is at your discretion.

While the pearl barley is cooking, you need to prepare and fry the vegetables. For vegetables, onions and carrots are preferable, although celery roots, parsnips, and unpeeled garlic cloves are also great. Peel the vegetables. Cut the carrots into large cubes, twice as large as the vegetables for the Olivier salad. Cut the onion into large strips.

Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan. Let the oil simmer for 1-2 minutes over low heat. Then fry the chopped carrots in oil. Fry vegetables over medium heat, stirring. The time for frying carrots is about 5 minutes, so that the surface of the carrot cubes begins to brown a little, and the carrot itself becomes soft.

Add the chopped onion and fry the vegetables, stirring until the onion turns a nice golden color. Simultaneously frying carrots and onions in this sequence will allow you to prepare the vegetables well and the side dish with pearl barley will be tasty and aromatic.

After the onions and carrots are fried, pepper the vegetables a little to taste, preferably with freshly ground black pepper. There is no need to salt vegetables. Add boiled pearl barley to the fried vegetables, drain the liquid well. Gently mix the cereal and vegetables. Using a wooden spatula, place the pearl barley and vegetables in a mound in the center of the pan, being careful not to leave anything on the sides. Reduce heat to low and cover the saucepan with a lid. The barley garnish should be steamed in the remaining moisture for 10 minutes.

Next, salt the pearl barley garnish to taste. You can add regular salt, or you can add 1-2 tbsp. high-quality and natural soy sauce. The soy sauce is quite salty and has a bright flavor that perfectly enhances the dish. After the pearl barley garnish is salted, mix the cereal, put it in a mound and let it steam under the lid for at least another 10 minutes. The side dish is ready, but you can, if desired, stir the cereal several more times, steaming it in the remaining moisture, then the side dish will be much more crumbly.

A side dish of pearl barley goes well with fried meat, natural pork cutlets, breaded fish, or game. In addition, the barley side dish is a complete vegetarian dish that does not contain any ingredients of animal origin.

When serving a side dish of barley to the table, I advise you to sprinkle the barley with vegetables with a small amount of finely chopped parsley and dill.

Pearl barley pilaf with pork

Feeding the whole family with nourishing and healthy food is the main task of any housewife. Using the step-by-step recipe for preparing this dish, you can be sure that your family will gobble up the pilaf with gusto on both cheeks, and then ask for more. There is no shame in even offering a delicious dish to the festive table - it will be an unexpected, delicious surprise for guests.

Required Products:

one and a half glasses of pearl barley;
half a kilogram of lean pork;
200 g lard (pork);
several large carrots;
2 large onions;
chilli pepper;
ketchup or tomato paste (1 - 2 dessert spoons);
head of garlic;
spices: crushed turmeric and paprika, dry barberry seeds, cumin;
salt.

From this set of products in the specified quantity, you can make pilaf for lunch for a large family of 4-5 people.

Step-by-step preparation of a dish

Using a sharp knife, cut the pork into small pieces (strips).
Grind the peeled carrots on a coarse grater or cut into small cubes or strips.

Chop the onion into half rings. To prevent the onion from corroding your eyes while chopping, wet the knife in cold water.
In a special cauldron for pilaf or a high frying pan with a thick bottom, fry the lard, previously cut into small cubes. Fry it until it completely gives up all the fat. Afterwards we take out the cracklings.
Place the meat in boiling fat and fry over high heat until browned on all sides. During frying, constantly turn the pieces of meat and do not let them burn.
Add onion and cook until golden brown.
Add the chopped carrots, reduce the heat and simmer.
Add tomato paste (ketchup) to the half-cooked meat and vegetables and mix everything carefully. It is necessary that the paste covers each piece of meat and completely saturates the onions and carrots.
Sprinkle spices and salt on top evenly over the entire surface. Place the garlic head and pepper pod in the middle of the pan. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer on a low flame for no longer than 5 minutes.
Pour warm water over the meat base and vegetables. Enough water is needed so that it is 1 cm higher than the base. Close the lid tightly and continue to simmer for half an hour over very low heat.
While the meat and vegetables are stewing, prepare the cereal. We wash the pearl barley several times in cold water and place it on a towel (paper or linen). After excess moisture has been absorbed, fry the cereal in a warm frying pan. We continue to roast the cereal until a subtle nutty aroma appears - this will be a signal that the cereal is ready for further cooking and the pilaf will be crumbly and aromatic.
Add pearl barley to the stew base and pour in warm boiled water (you need to add enough water to cover the semi-finished dish by 2 centimeters). Mix everything with a wooden spatula and simmer over low heat until cooked (at least 40 minutes).

Before serving, sprinkle hot pilaf with chopped herbs - this will give the dish a fresh spring aroma and add vitamins to the diet.

If you prepare pearl barley pilaf from pre-soaked cereal, the cooking time is reduced by almost half. It will be enough to simmer the soaked cereal with vegetables for no longer than half an hour.

How to cook pearl barley porridge with meat in a pot in the oven

Pearl barley porridge cooked in pots in the oven turns out incredibly tender and crumbly. This is due to the fact that it is not boiled, but simmers, enveloped in heat from all sides, and absorbs all the juices of meat and vegetables.

To prepare barley stewed in the oven you will need:

200 g pearl barley;
250 g of meat (beef or pork);
100 g onions;
100 g carrots;
50 ml tomato juice;
40 ml vegetable oil;
25 g garlic;
salt and spices to taste.

The time required for this option for preparing pearl barley porridge will be in the range of 90-120 minutes.

The calorie content of 100 grams of food from a pot is 104 kilocalories.

Operating procedure:

Dry the pre-soaked cereal well and fry in a dry frying pan until a beautiful golden color;
In another frying pan, fry the meat in hot oil, then fry the onion along with it, and after the onion, add the third ingredient - carrots, chopped using a coarse grater. It takes 5-7 minutes to fry each product;
15-20 minutes after the start of frying the meat, pour tomato juice into the frying pan, add salt, spices and garlic passed through a press. Simmer everything under a closed lid for another 5 minutes;
Place fried pearl barley and meat and vegetables from the frying pan into ceramic pots. Each pot should be a little more than half full;
Add water to each pot so that it does not reach 2-3 cm to the top. Mix the contents with a spoon and place in the oven;
First, the porridge should spend half an hour in the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees, and then the temperature should be reduced to 180 degrees and simmer the pots for another 1 hour;
After the specified time, the porridge will be ready, but if time permits, it can be left for a while in the turned off oven. This way it will absorb all the flavors of meat and vegetables.

Read our article on how to prepare creamy garlic sauce for fish, meat or spaghetti.

Lenten baking without eggs and milk - we invite you to familiarize yourself with several recipes.

A delicate-tasting, juicy and incredibly tasty pie will be made from shortcrust pastry, cottage cheese and berries - take note of several of our recipes.

Lenten barley pilaf with mushrooms

An equally satisfying and healthy dish can be prepared by replacing meat with mushrooms.

Ingredients for the dish:

300 g cereal;
500 g of mushrooms (champignons are preferable);
1/3 cup vegetable oil (sunflower or olive, you can use a mixture of oils);
carrot;
onion;
spices (turmeric and basil);
black pepper;
salt (coarse sea salt).

Add spices and salt according to your taste preferences. Turmeric can be replaced with sweet bell pepper - this additive will not only not spoil the taste, but will also add vitamins to the dish.

Cooking lean pilaf

Soak the pearl barley for 12 hours (overnight) in cold water. Since the cereal increases in volume during soaking, take a deep bowl for this.
Before you start cooking pilaf, transfer the soaked cereal to a sieve and rinse under running water.
In a saucepan with plenty of water, cook the barley until tender. Add the required amount of salt.
Chop the mushrooms into slices and fry in oil with spices until cooked. Place the prepared mushrooms on a plate.
Fry the onion in the remaining oil until golden brown, then add the chopped carrots and simmer until they become soft.
Add mushrooms and pearl barley to the vegetables. If there is water left during cooking of the cereal, do not drain it, but add it to the frying pan along with the porridge.
Pour cold boiling water (50 g) on top and cover with a tight lid. Simmer the food until all the liquid has evaporated and the pilaf becomes crumbly.
Before serving, stir and sprinkle chopped herbs (basil or dill) on top.

Pearl barley pilaf with mushrooms, although not fatty, is a very nutritious dish. To avoid digestive problems, do not consume this dish immediately before bed.

How to cook a dish in a slow cooker

The two previous recipes told how to cook delicious crumbly pearl barley porridge with meat in the usual way on the stove and in ceramic pots in the oven. But there is another way - cooking pearl barley in a slow cooker. Below you will find detailed step-by-step instructions for the Redmond multicooker.

To cook this dish using the capabilities of a modern kitchen gadget, you need to take:

200 g pearl barley;
200 g pork tenderloin;
150 g onions;
150 g carrots;
150 g red bell pepper;
65-70 ml vegetable oil;
salt and spices to taste.

Cooking time is about 3.5 hours.

The calorie content of 100 g of the finished dish is 237.4 kcal.

How to cook pearl barley porridge with meat in a slow cooker:

Pour vegetable oil into the bottom of the multicooker bowl, place chopped onions, carrots and peppers on it. Turn on the “Frying” mode. For the Redmond multicooker, its duration is 18 minutes. This must be taken into account when preparing a dish in other devices. 283″[/img]
After half the cycle of the established program, add meat cut into small pieces to the vegetables, mix everything well with a multicooker spatula or an ordinary wooden one;
Rinse the pearl barley under running water until it is completely transparent, and as soon as the “Frying” mode ends, transfer the pearl barley to the multicooker and add 300 ml of water;
Further preparation of the dish will take place in the “Delayed Start” mode. This mode will replace soaking cereals and will help reduce the cooking time of porridge. Duration of delayed start – 2 hours;
In the control panel menu, you need to select the “Rice/cereals” program and manually set its duration to 1 hour, since the time determined by the program is not enough to prepare pearl barley. If there is no such program, it can be replaced by the “Extinguishing” program;
In the middle of the cooking cycle, you can carefully open the lid of the multicooker, stir its contents and, if necessary, add water (50-100 ml). After the final beep, the porridge will be ready.