Deviled Barley Pearls

Deviled barley pearls were introduced to us right off the bat in the book Redwall. Now the only food I've ever heard as being "deviled" is deviled eggs. I wasn't certain what exactly makes deviled eggs deviled, so I looked up the definition. Apparently, "to devil" in cooking means "to prepare food with hot or savory seasoning." Well, that pretty much covers anything I could to barley, so I decided to prepare it risotto style. This recipe takes a lot of hands-on time, but it's simple. Most of the time is just taken giving the pot an occasional stir, so don't be intimidated. If you have the time, it's well worth it.

Deviled Barley Pearls

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil (I used olive)
• 1 white onion
• 1 cup pearled barley (I found this in the kosher section, not in the grains section)
• 1 tsp dried thyme (I didn't try it, but I bet sage and rosemary would be nice additions, as well)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms (I used portobello, but use your favorite)

Directions

1. Dice the onion and slice up the mushrooms
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat
3. Add the onion and saute until it starts to turn translucent
   
4. Stir in barley and thyme
   
5. Add about a cup of the broth
   
6. Allow barley to cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed
   
7. Continue steps 5 and 6 until the broth is gone and barley is tender
   
8. Stir in the mushrooms and heat through
   

Soft Cheese and Watercress Sandwich

This recipe came out of a desire for something gooey. In High Rhulain, Brantalis ate a sandwich of soft cheese and watercress. He dunked it in pea and cabbage soup, which of course made me think of dunking my grilled cheese sandwiches into tomato soup. I didn't make the soup this time (cabbage is gross...), but I did make the sandwich and it came out rather beautifully. It could be argued that the open-face sandwich I made doesn't count as a "sandwich," so feel free to use two slices of bread.

Soft Cheese and Watercress Sandwich

Prep time: 1 minutes
Cook time: 4-8 minutes
Total time: 5-10 minutes

Yield: 1 sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Brie or another soft cheese
• 1/4 cup watercress
• 1 or 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1 tsp butter

Directions

1. Top the slice of bread with the brie. Mine was soft enough at room temperature to spread. If yours isn't, simply slice the cheese thinly and lie it over the bread.
   
2. Pluck the watercress leaves from the stems and place it on top of the cheese. 
   
3. If using two slices of bread, top with the second bread slice.
4. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the sandwich.
   
5. Cook the sandwich for 4 minutes per slice of bread (flipping halfway through if you're using two slices) or until the bread is golden brown and crispy.
   
6. Enjoy your gooey, melty sandwich.