Grainy Mushroom Rocket Salad*
I was making lasagne the other night and decided I needed a little something to go on the side. I'd been shopping at Tesco's earlier and in a moment of blind desire bought up a bag of pearl barley. To even it out, I'd also purchased a bag of rocket and some little mushrooms. By the time I got to the bus stop, I knew EXACTLY how they were going to come together. Apart from the cooking time, this dish takes absolutely no time to prepare at all and goes with everything. Cooks it yields either four side servings or two sides and a hefty lunch.
ingredients
pearl barley hemp seeds
hemp seeds
four chestnut mushrooms
a fistful of rocket
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
pepper to taste
method
In a small-medium sized sauce pan pour enough pearl barley to evenly cover the bottom twice over plus a little bit more. I think it's about a cup, but I wasn't measuring out anything, I just went with the barley flow that took over my hunger yesterday afternoon. Add a dappled scattering of hemp seeds -- by dappled I mean as so that the spread of hemps seeds looks like the saucepan was put in the shadow of an apple tree. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then let simmer for just under an hour.**
In the last vestiges of cooking time, get your four mushrooms and slice them in half. Cut each half into four wedges. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan; add the mushrooms and saute until lightly browed. I added a teeny knob of butter too to get the browning just right, but that's an option. Take off the heat and put aside. When the barley/hemp seed mix ready, drain thoroughly and return to the pan. Rinse a fistful of rocket and pile on top of the mix in the saucepan. Stir it in! Add the mushrooms! It's Ready! Eat, my darling, eat!
* Doesn't that sound so deliciously like 1950s television footage of a mushroom shaped rocket? Or a cartoon? Retro Salad! The salad that will have children across America decking themselves out like Astro Boy to eat! The salad that every household across the nation watched with excitement! And then ate! Mmmm-mm!
** The makers of pearl barley always seem to suggest you need to cook it for 1-1 1/2 hours, but I say they're wrong. I like having a little bite to my barley rather than a soggy mess; so have a taste before the hour's up and see what you think. If you think it's ready, it probably is.
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