I get asked a lot what my go-to meals are and I usually stumble a bit because I don't have the most elegant answer: "bowls," I say, "Well, I don't eat bowls but I often find myself tossing a bevy of random ingredients into one and calling it a meal." Sometimes these bowls are filled with salad, other times with grain pilafs or fried rice. More often than not, however, my go-to meals sit somewhere in between those two (is there a name for this? If so, inquiring minds need to know!).
This dish definitely constitutes the in between. Not a salad (it could be fairly easily- just serve over spinach) and it's not quite a pilaf because the grain is really just supplementary to the potatoes. However, it's filling, rather easy to throw together, and super flavorful (I love smoked paprika for easy flavor.) During the fall this meal would be killer with sweet potatoes (so, tuck it away in a safe spot and come back to it!)
PrintWant to make it gluten-free and/or vegan? Use full-fat coconut milk in place of the heavy cream and change out the barley for your favorite gf grain (sorghum, millet, or quinoa I think would be lovely!)
I usually end up calling things like this a "melange" or "grain salad," but hey--they can be bowls! No problem. I love the idea of adding hard-boiled egg to this mix!
This looks like such a wholesome meal! Yum!
I'm 100% with you on the 'bowls' front, we definitely need a better word to describe them though!
The flavors in this bowl sound outstanding! It's generic, but yes I would consider this a one-bowl meal or a barley bowl. Anytime there's a grain, veg, and sauce component in one bowl, it becomes a bowl meal! 😉 Even though we could come up with a more illustrative and creative name, I still love this way of thinking about food, cooking, and eating!!
Love it! Simple and so delicious!
By the way, I see your new "fake wall" at the background and love it!
Those bowls are making me seriously hungry! Love these photos.
Oh this looks FANTASTIC! Thank you for my new supper plans tonight!!! <3
This sounds like an AMAZING go-to recipe. Bowls are good. Very good. Bowls filled with your luscious barley/paprika/potato concoction are even better.
I'm a big "bowl" fan also, but I usually just call them salads even if there are no greens! Smoked paprika is my favorite secret ingredient. I can never turn down a meal that has it!
I'm the same way, I just randomly throw a handful of healthy ingredients, depending on what I'm craving into a bowl and voila! lunch is served. ;} This could be my new 'go to' dinner for sure.
Tried this tonight 🙂 Sooo delicious! Added some oil to the cream mixture which helped with more sauce to coat the barley. Also threw some kale into the mix because... well it's amazing! Kale goes into everything my roommate and I make! Never has our fridge been without it!
Really good.. only had quinoa and worked well as a barley substitute. Even my boyfriend who loves heavy italian food willingly had seconds 🙂
How can this possibly be labeled a "vegan" meal? As a vegan, we do not eat eggs or any animal products such as eggs or cheese.
Hi Angie, I'm not sure where the label of vegan is coming from? There's no mention of it being vegan on my site as I know full well it's not. Sorry for the confusion.
How do you cook the barley? It looks pretty dry in the pictures, but no mention in the recipe about how it's prepared. Thanks!
I follow the information on this page: https://naturallyella.com/pantry/grains/barley/. I use whole grain barley (not pearled) which leaves the berries a bit on the chewy side (which is why they look a bit more dry).