Pressure Cooker Barley with Shallots and Parsley

While I’m a huge fan of the big, hearty, chewy grains like barley, farro and wheat berries, I’m not as big of a fan of the long cooking times.  Here’s a very simple recipe for cooking barley that uses a pressure cooker, or an Instant Pot, to cut the cooking time in half.  No worries if you don’t own a pressure cooker, it’ll just take a little longer with a traditional pot.

Pressure Cooked Barley with Parsley & Shallots

I think the texture and chewiness of barley is really interesting.  When cooked right, it has a firm shell that pops and releases the flavors of whatever liquid that it was cooked with.  For that reason, I like to use a flavorful stock for the simmer and add one or two other big flavors to accompany the cooking.

 

 

In this recipe, I’ve used chicken stock as the base and added in shallots and parsley.  The technique here is very similar to a risotto.  In fact, it’s a good process to follow for cooking a lot of different grains.  You can basically swap out barley for wheat berries or arborio or quinoa, alter the cooking times (and water ratio) and get the same results.

5 from 1 vote
Pressure Cooked Barley with Shallots and Parsley Recipe
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 
Serve on its own as a side or mix into a salad
Author: Tony Bailey
Ingredients
  • 2 Cups Barley rinsed
  • 1/2 Cup Shallots minced
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1/4 Cup Parsley chopped
  • 3 Cups Stock
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter over medium low in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Be careful not to brown it....you just want to evaporate the foam
  2. Raise the heat to medium and sweat the shallots for 5-7 minutes until the are translucent. If they have dried out too much and are sticking, add in a touch of Olive Oil
  3. Add the barley and toast for 7-10 minutes until you get a Rice Krispies (snap, crackle & pop) effect. You should also notice a lightly toasted smell.
  4. Add the cooking stock, seal, raise the heat and cook for 20 minutes once pressure is reached
  5. You can use either a quick or natural release once it is done. If you still have water left, put the pot back on the stove and simmer off the water.
  6. Fluff the barley once it is cooked and add the chopped parsley

5 Comments

  1. I have to say that you just wrote an excellent post. I am a huge fan of electronic cigarettes and the numerous varieties of e-liquid obtainable on the marketplace. Keep up the excellent perform and I will make certain to keep checking for new posts 🙂

  2. It looks good. I'll try this recipe this week. Thank you for sharing! My recent post Timely Cooking With the Kuhn Rikon Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

  3. Delicious. Came out absolutely perfect. I served with pulled chicken and salad. 10/10 would recommend.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.