A couple of months ago my wife and I went away for the weekend, and ate at a very nice restaurant. Following the principle of “eat as much salmon as you can afford”, I had the salmon, which was served on a bed of barley and lentils with (I think) beef stock.
It was very good, and very filling, and I though, “I could make that.” I work at a natural health centre above a health food shop, so when I was down there and spotted some barley, I bought a little bag and cooked it with some lentils and stock.
It tasted just as good and was just as filling as I remembered, and makes an excellent substitute for rice in a wide range of dishes. I’ve tried to like brown rice, but I just don’t, and white rice isn’t very nutritious.
photo credit: Meanest Indian
Barley and lentils, on the other hand, is nutritious, as you can see on nutritiondata.com, where I’ve loaded it up as a recipe. As is often the case when you combine a legume (such as lentils) with a grain (such as barley), it has a good balance of amino acids, with an amino acid score of 92. A score of 100 indicates a “complete” protein. I notice on the link to complementary foods, which would complete the balance, that salmon is featured. That chef knew a thing or two.
I haven’t actually made this with salmon at home, but I’ve made it with scallops and steamed baby broccoli, and with chicken curry with mixed vegetables. You could use it anywhere you’d use rice.
Besides the good protein, it’s also excellent for B vitamins: just 100g of the barley-lentil dish (leaving aside the stock for the moment) gives 21% of the daily value for thiamin, 9% of niacin, 14% of vitamin B6 and 30% of folate. It’s also full of minerals: 26% of the daily value for iron, 12% magnesium, 19% phosphorus, 10% potassium, 17% zinc, 38% copper, an enormous 45% of the daily value for manganese, and 12% for selenium. It has 31% of the daily value for dietary fibre, and no sodium, cholesterol or trans fats. It contains only 0.3g per 100g saturated fat.
And this stuff is cheap! A couple of cups of pearled barley, enough for almost two weeks of meals for one person, cost me $1.50 at an organic health food store (which is usually an expensive place to buy things). Lentils are cheap as dirt. Even using pre-prepared stock, I doubt it costs me $1 per meal.
When you add the stock in, it does add a bit of sodium and dilutes the percentages of B vitamins and minerals per 100g, but it enhances the flavour. (Don’t take that analysis too literally, as the recipe for the store-bought stock I use is almost certainly different from the one on Nutritiondata.) I’ve also tried making it with vegetable stock so that I’m prepared if I want to make it for vegetarian friends, and it works just as well. The particular batch I made was a little dry and crumbly with the vegetable stock, for some reason, so I add a little milk before I reheat it in the microwave.
Overall, an excellent recipe, and I’m glad I stumbled on it. For more on barley and lentils and their health benefits, follow the links to World’s Healthiest Foods (which points out that the pearled barley I’m using isn’t even the most nutritious form, and that barley contains plenty of tryptophan, the serotonin precursor I blogged about recently).
If you use whole barley, of course, it’s even better. I’ve added a recipe for whole barley and lentils. Nutritiondata.com only had “hulled” barley, and I’m not sure if what I’m using is hulled, but it may be. The protein score goes up to 112, and look at those B vitamins – the thiamin has gone to 38%, niacin to 15%, vitamin B6 18%, folate 28%, and riboflavin 11%. Just 100g of this stuff gives you 31% of your daily iron, 25% magnesium, 28% phosphorus, 15% potassium, 22% zinc, 45% copper, 85% of your daily manganese requirement, and 32% of your selenium. Compare that with 100g of white rice (change the selector at the top of the page to 100g) and you’ll see why I’m preferring my “barley dhal”. Plus, it tastes better.
Technorati Tags: recipe, barley, lentils, dhal, rice, stock, nutrition, B vitamins, dietary fibre, minerals
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