A variation on a Christmas classic, using some local pantry items.
I had some cooked barley in my fridge, remnants of a barley-broth. I decided to employ the rice pudding method to save the left-overs. (Rice Pudding Method: a lengthy secondary cooking in sugar and milk.) The barley sucks up a lot of the milk and releases some starch into the pot.
Once a porridge has formed, cooked wild rice and dried cherries are added, and the whole lot is thickened with butter, egg yolk, and a touch of cream.
Since the wild rice and cherries are added at the end, they stay firm for textural contrast.
Wild Rice and Barley Pudding
Ingredients
- 235 g cooked pearled barley
- 300 g whole milk
- 30 g dark brown sugar
- 1 pinch kosher salt>
- 1/2 stick of cinnamon
- 50 g cooked wild rice
- 20 g dried sour cherries
- 30 mL brandy
- 1 egg yolk with absolutely all remnants of white removed
- 20 g butter
- 30 g heavy cream
Procedure
- Soak the dried cherries in the brandy.
- Put barley in a heavy-bottomed pot and cover with milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil then simmer until most of the milk has boiled off or been absorbed, about 40 minutes.
- Strain the cherries from the brandy. Reserve the brandy. Add the cherries and wild rice to the barley. Remove the cinnamon stick.
- Return to a simmer.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the butter, then the egg yolk. Adjust the consistency of the pudding with the heavy cream. Serve immediately, accompanied by a taste of the cherry-brandy.
Makes 3-4 servings.
