Barley salad with broiled feta & tomatoes

For ➍
230 g feta cheese, cut into 0.5 cm cubes
230 g small ripe tomatoes, such as San Marzano, halved
70 g pitted black olives, halved
10 g chopped fresh herbs such as oregano, rosemary & thyme
6 cl extra-virgin olive oil
200 g pearled barley
50 cl water
2 ripe avocados, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
455 g marinated artichokes, cut into wedges 1.5 cm thick
1 cucumber 230 g, seeded & chopped
60 g fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C.
Combine the feta, tomatoes, olives, herbs and olive oil on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss until well mixed. Bake the mixture for about 25 m or until the feta has melted and the tomatoes are soft and brown.
Meanwhile, bring the barley, water and ½ ts salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer the barley for about 20 m or until it is tender. Fluff it with a fork and transfer it to a salad bowl.
Add the avocados, artichokes, cucumber, basil and lemon juice to the barley and toss to combine. Stir in the feta mixture.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Pearl barley risotto with pheasant & beer

For ➍
200 g pearl barley (hata mugi)
1 shallot , chopped
70 cl chicken stock
1 dash of white wine
100 g dried wild mushrooms, soaked in water
½ lemon, zest
4 pheasant fillets
20 cl Double Postel beer
250 g oyster mushrooms, cut into strips
2 handfuls of fresh herbs (parsley , tarragon , chervil , ... ), chopped
butter
olive oil
pepper & salt

The pearl barley is cooked like a risotto, named orzotto. Stew a minced shallot in a little olive oil. Add the pearl barley. Deglaze with the white wine and a splash of chicken stock. Cook on a low heat for 20 m. Check if there is still enough liquid. Add stock if necessary.
Pour in the liquid from the soaked mushrooms for extra flavour. Chop the mushrooms finely and add at the very end. Add grated lemon zest for freshness. Season with salt and pepper. Keep the risotto warm.
Fry the pheasant fillets in a little butter on both sides. The meat should still be pink. Season with salt and pepper. Further, let yarn in a preheated oven at 160°C for 15 m.
Make the sauce. Drain excess fat from the pan and deglaze with the Double Postel. Get the bakings loose and pour the rest of the chicken stock over it. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil.
Remove the meat from the oven, cover and leave to rest for a while.
Fry the sliced mushrooms in oil. Season with salt and pepper and add the spring onions. Let yarn on a low heat for a few m.
Serve the risotto with fresh herbs.

Double Postel beer is a Belgian brown abbey beer with a hint of Eastern spices. A good brown or red beer will do.
Read the tip on cooking risotto.

Asure (Noah's pudding)

For ➍
125 g barley or pearl barley (or a grain product like Ebly)
4 tbs rice
75 g sugar
1 ts vanilla extract (or 1 small package vanilla)
1 tbs custard powder (or 125 g drained chickpeas)*
water
8 dry apricots, soaked in water overnight, cut in pieces***
4 dry figs, cut in pieces***
4 tbs ½ cup raisins***
2 tbs cup walnuts, crumbled, for garnish

Boil the barley and rice in separate pans. Drain.
Mix barley, rice, chickpeas* and other ingredients*** (except walnuts), add some water**, and let cook for 30 m. Stir occasionally.
Pour into a large service bowl or individual serving bowls and let cool for 2 h.

*When using custard powder, mix it with 2 tbs of warm milk. Use Turkish asure powder instead. Adjust the sugar, as the asure powder is very sweet. Or use chickpeas to thicken.
**Any amount you see fit: the lesser, the thicker the pudding will become.
***Save some of the fruit to garnish the pudding.

This recipe is one of the oldest and best known desserts of Turkish cuisine. It is traditional to give some away to friends and family, and stems from a popular Middle East legend, echoed in the Bible. The feast is still repeated every year by the Islamic community. The recipe uses the age-old habit of making sweets with beans and cereals (instead of modern sugar) and dates back from at least the Ottoman times.
...5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, Noah was king of the city of Shuruppak. His was a trade empire, and he built a large trading ship. At that time, there was a raging flood and rainstorm. He and his family loaded animals, grain, fruit and beer on board. The rain continued for 40 days. Afterwards there was no land in sight for 7 days. They ran out of drinking water and since the sea was salty, they had to resort to drinking beer. They eventually landed on Mount Ararat, still one of the most spectacular sights on earth, now bordering the Armenian region of Turkey, close to the Iranian border. As a celebration for their survival, Noah made a pudding out of some cereals, dried beans and fruits for his family...
The image shows an old etching of Mount Ararat and the Lake Van.