Barley and Eggplant

I love contrast in food.  Contrast in color, contrast in temperature, and contrast in flavor.  This dish explores the contrast in texture, which is one of the most enjoyable sensations in cuisine.

Barley is a wonderful grain that doesn't get nearly enough attention.  It's a plump little darling that maintains its lovely bounce even after it's cooked.  That's why it works really well in soups--it doesn't get all mushy. 

Eggplant is the other part of the equation in this dish.  Eggplant provides a contrast; when cooked, it is soft and mealy, and can carry the flavor of whatever is cooked around it.  It's such a wonderful, filling, and low-calorie vegetable. 

The thing about eggplant is that it needs to be prepped (it's not hard!!) beforehand.  You can do it the way I showed you here in my recipe for Eggplant Noodle Casserole, or you can do it a slightly different way.  First, slice them into thin disks, about 3/4" thick. 

Then you chop them into cubes.

Throw them in a big mixing bowl and pour in some salt.  I mean, tons of salt.  This is not to eat, but rather to induce the nasty brown liquid to ooze out of the flesh of the eggplant. 

So mix them up.

Then throw them onto a large baking sheet and let sit for 10 minutes.

Eggplant city, doo-doot-n-doo! 

Put them back in the bowl and rinse off the brown liquid and all the salt.  Let drain really well.  You might even blot them with paper towel to get them drier.

That would be how you prep the eggplant.  Not terribly difficult.


Okay, ready to do this?

Ingredients (5 servings):
-1 cup barley (soak for several hours before cooking)
-3 tbsp wild rice (soak with the barley)
-2 1/2 cups water
-1 tsp chicken powder
-1 eggplant, cubed and prepped
-1 1/2 cups frozen peas
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1 tsp salt
-2 tbsp vegetable oil

1.  First things first.  Here's the barley and wild rice.

You gotta soak these at least 4-5 hours, or else they'll never cook.  Well, they will, but who has time to wait for all that?

Mkay, so even if they've been soaking all day, they still take a long while to cook, so do this first.  Bring a large pot of water and barley to boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Add chicken powder.  The barley will cook for 20 minutes while you do all the other stuff. 

Sometimes my pictures are very helpful; other times, i wonder why you need to see this.  Oh well.

2.  In large skillet on high, add oil and onion and saute till golden and translucent.

3.  Add prepped and cubed eggplant. 

Stir around for 5 minutes or until eggplant gets visibly soft.

Lower heat to medium.  Saute eggplant for another several minutes or until largest piece of eggplant is soft all the way to the center.

5.  Add frozen peas!  How wonderful are sweet peas?  I ate a few of these while i was cooking.

Okay, so drop 'em in.

Stir around for 2 minutes or until frozen peas are now non-frozen peas.  Add salt.  Remove from heat.

6.  Check on the barley.  The water it has been boiling in should be almost all gone.  Taste it.  Is it tender but still a little bouncy?  Then it's done. 

But really it's up to you and how you like it.  If you want to cook it for longer, add a little more water so it has something to boil in.

Okay, are we ready to serve?

First, dish up some of the barley.

Now spoon eggplant over the barley.

 
Ah yes, friends, Romans, country[wo]men.

I can't even fathom how healthy this is for you.  What i DO know is that it tastes darn good. 

Hot, soft eggplant pieces with a lovely onion-y flavor, little peas that pop in your mouth...and underneath, we have the springy barley.  A grain with an attitude. 

This dish is something you can make as a huge batch over the weekend, and then store in small containers to be reheated for lunch or dinner throughout the week. 

Planning meals ahead like that keeps you from doing the whole, "ohhhh i have nothing to eat and i don't feel like cooking tonight.  i'll just go get Panda Express."  You KNOW you get like that.  I get like that.  After a long day on campus, teaching and going to class and meetings, you have no energy left to cook a healthy meal, and you could end up splurging (both money and calorie-wise) on a not-so-healthy meal.  But if you make large batches of really delicious meals ahead of time, you don't have to deal with the temptation.

Hey, if anything's a temptation, this dish totally should be.  It's phenomenal!

For a printable version of this recipe, please click here.