Have this stodgy, deep-purple barley porridge for breakfast and your engine will run energized for hours. It also makes a deliciously nutritious dessert. The recipe is adapted from a traditional Dutch recipe for watergruwel (water gruel).
Ingredients
- 1 quart water
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 piece cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- juice and peel (large pieces) of 1 medium lemon
- 2 cups seasonal berries (mix blackberries, blueberries, mulberries), about 1 cup puréed
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup currants
- ½ cup raw cane sugar
- local raw honey
- mint
Preparation
Rinse the pearl barley in a sieve. Put the water to a 2-quart stockpot. Add barley and soak overnight.
The next day, drain the soaking water and replenish the pot with 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Add salt, cinnamon, vanilla and lemon peel and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes, then add the puréed berries, raisins and sugar, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon zest. Add lemon juice and more sugar to taste. Serve warm with the remaining berries added just before, so they can warm up in the berry-barley porridge. Garnish with honey and mint to taste.
