Barley Porridge

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole barley

4 1/4 cups water, divided

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

Sugar, or honey, to taste

Milk, for serving

Dried fruit, fresh fruit, nuts, for optional garnish

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Soak the barley in 3/4 cup water for 1 hour.

3. At the end of the hour, add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of water to a saucepan along with the cinnamon stick, cover the pot and bring it to a boil.

4. Add the soaked barley as well as the soaking liquid to the boiling water and cook on medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until the barley is soft.

5. Remove the pot from the heat and sweeten with sugar and milk to taste, stirring until fully incorporated. Serve hot with toppings such as fruit and nuts, if desired.

Recipe Variations

You can make many variations on this recipe in the fruit, nuts, and spices you can include. Chopped almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans will add some crunch.

Blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries are excellent choices to top your porridge, either fresh in season or using frozen fruit that you have defrosted. You can include chopped fruit such as pears, peaches, or apples and add them in the last three minutes of cooking to soften them. Similarly, dried fruit such as raisins, figs, or chopped dates can be added at the end of cooking. These can give the porridge enough natural sweetness that you can use less sugar or omit it entirely.

You can make the barley porridge the base for a savory dish, omitting the sugar, adding chopped ham, and topping it with a poached egg.

These days, the ground versions of grains such as barley, sago, and oats are readily available to make porridge. The cooking time is significantly reduced when using ground grains, so ground barley porridge cooks up quickly.