How to cook pearl barley

Points to remember:

• For 100g pearl barley add 600ml cold water. Bring that to the boil and cook for 30 minutes.
• Drain off any remaining water and serve straight away as you would rice. Alternatively, if you want to serve the pearl barley cold, perhaps in a salad, it’s a good idea to cool it down as quickly as possible after cooking. You can do this by spreading it out on a large tray or rinsing it in a sieve under running cold water.
• Cooked and cooled pearl barley will keep, covered in the fridge for up to three days.
• Pearl barley can be cooked into stews or broths and can also be used in place of Arborio rice in a risotto.

Looking for more inspiration? Take a look at all our pearl barley recipes.