Money Saving Meals

Pearl Barley

Tucked away in the soup aisle in your supermarket, usually near the dry beans and lentils, is one of the most magic of all budget stretchers. Pearl barley.

It's great stick-to-the-ribs food and incredibly cheap - around $1.30 (Aussie dollars) for a 500 g pack. It's very versatile - it can do anything rice can do (and sometimes better), but it's all too often ignored because it takes longer to cook.

Hulled barley (also called barley groats, pot barley, Scots barley) is less processed than pearl barley, tends to be chewier and takes longer to cook. Follow packet instructions for cooking times. We haven't seen the new ‘hull-less' varieties of barley on Australian shelves, but keep an eye out for these wholegrains.

To store: Like other grains, store pearl barley in an airtight container in a dry place away from heat. It keeps well for months stored properly, making it a great ingredient to have on hand for meals from the pantry. Some people recommend storing wholegrains in tightly sealed containers in the fridge or freezer.

Serving: 1 cup pearl barley (200 g) yields about 3 cups cooked and serves 4 people easily.

Why it's good

Barley is loaded with B vitamins and minerals such as zinc and magnesium. It also contains beta-glucan, the same kind of cholesterol-lowering water soluble dietary fibre found in oats. It has a low GI (27), so is a good carb for helping people with diabetes manage their blood glucose levels.

PS: It's off the menu if you have celiac disease as it contains gluten.

What you can do with it

Pearl barley adds a nutty flavour and chewy texture to many recipes. You can pretty much use it anywhere you use rice. Serve it up as a side dish, make a warming breakfast porridge, a delicious risotto, a tasty pilaf; or use barley to make a meal go that bit further and add it to soups and stews, salads or for stuffed tomatoes, capsicums (peppers), eggplants (aubergines), zucchini (courgettes) or any other vegetable.

Use leftover cooked barley as a ‘food stretcher' in the same way you use leftover cooked rice - add it to mince when making meatloaf, patties or meat balls, throw it into soups, toss it in salads. It's also tasty in a frittata, but don't overdo it.

Cooking barley

Simmer it in a large saucepan of stock or water, ‘steam' it using the absorption method or cook it in a rice cooker. It also makes a delicious risotto. Like brown rice, it's delicious if you toast it in the oven briefly before cooking. There is no need to soak pearl barley. If you cook a large batch of barley, you can freeze what you don't use for up to 3 months.

Penny's fruity beef and barley stew

This one pot wonder is a complete meal that makes the most of cheap cuts of meat like chuck, gravy and blade that need long slow cooking. Make it special with a swirl of low fat yoghurt just before serving. When red capsicums (peppers) are pricy, use green ones, as the dish still has heaps of colour with the golden apricots. It was created by a our friend Penny Hunking, a dietitian working with the English Institute of Sport and looking after the GB Synchronised Swimming Team.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: about 2 hours

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 large onions, peeled, halved and sliced
2 teaspoons turmeric
400 g (14 oz) beef, chopped into large chunks, fat trimmed
1 green capsicum (pepper), seeded and diced
1 red capsicum (pepper), seeded and diced
400 g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
2 crispy, tart apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup dried apricots
3 tablespoons raisins or currants
½ cup pearl barley

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the garlic and onion over a lowish heat until the onion is very soft (about 10 minutes). Stir in the turmeric.

Toss in the beef chunks and capsicum and mix well and let them sauté gently for 2-3 minutes until the meat has browned a little. Add the tomatoes, stock, apples, apricots and raisins, mix well to combine, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer very gently for 1 hour

Add the barley (and extra water or stock if need be) and simmer for another 40 minutes until the barley is tender and the meat is almost falling apart. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve.