A warming, wintry vegetarian barley bake, packed with tasty spinach and mushrooms. The tomato and cheese topping makes it extra special.
Another week, another meal required to cook itself in my absence. I really must find my daughter Kipper some extra-curricular activities that don’t take place in the hour before dinner time!
Barley = Cold weather food
Perhaps because of the cold weather, I had a yearning for barley.
There’s something about barley that’s so yummy and warming and wintery. I wasn’t entirely sure how I could concoct something with it that would cook itself in a pre-set oven in my absence, but then I remembered my rainbow quinoa bake. Inspired, I rummaged in the fridge and found some vegetables that would turn this humble grain into a whole dinner.
Making the barley bake
The barley bake was pretty easy to cook and assemble. I prepared and cooked the vegetable components while the barley was simmering. Then I mixed everything together, put it in the dish, and organised the toppings.
To make this tasty vegetable and barley bake yourself, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Pearl barley – of course!
- Vegetable stock powder (optional) – I like to add this to the water while the barley is cooking for more flavour, but you can use plain or lightly salted water instead if you prefer
- Veggies – fresh spinach, onions and mushrooms
- Olive oil – to sauté the vegetables in
- Seasonings – I used dried thyme and ground black pepper
- 2 eggs – to bind everything together, and also add some protein to the dish
And for the topping:
- Cherry tomatoes – or use sliced regular tomatoes (or no tomatoes at all)
- Grated cheddar or other hard cheese – for that gorgeous golden melty top!
There’s always room for error…
I’m always a bit neurotic that the automatic-oven-switcher-on function will fail me, although so far (puh puh puh!) it has never let me down. Walking out of the house, knowing that the fate of our evening meal depends on my ability to persuade an appliance to spring into life with no-one there to watch it… I get cold sweats just thinking about it.
Of course I needn’t have worried! Opening the front door on our return we were greeted by the delicious aroma of our dinner. A bubbling, crispy dish of deliciousness was retrieved from the oven, and we tucked in to our hot barley bake without further ado.
“Don’t just eat the vegetables!”
DH is not a big barley fan, but he said that this was, “quite good….for barley.” I think that counts as approval. My daughter Kipper liked the barley part but wasn’t keen on the tomato topping. This wasn’t a huge surprise – tomatoes are one of the few foods she’s never really got on with.
At one point, DH caught himself saying, “Don’t just eat the spinach – you need to eat the rest, too!” But everyone says that to their pre-schooler, right?
We polished off this whole dish of yummy, cheesy, mushroomy, spinach & barley bake between the three of us. We would probably have eaten more if there had been more. Definitely an absentee cooking success!
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Mushroom, spinach & barley bake
Ingredients
- 125 g pearl barley
- 1-2 teaspoon vegetable stock powder (optional)
- 250 g spinach
- 2 small onions (or 1 medium onion)
- 100 g mushrooms
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 150 g cherry tomatoes
- 55 g grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Place the barley and stock powder in a large pan with about 1.5l (6½-7 cups) water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until the barley is tender. Drain.
- While the barley is cooking, remove the stems from the spinach and wash and shred the leaves. Peel and slice the onions. Quarter or halve the mushrooms.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Cook the onions for a few minutes to soften, then add the mushrooms and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the spinach by handfuls and allow to wilt before stirring in and adding more. Season with the thyme and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Add the vegetable mixture to the barley in a large bowl, and stir in the eggs. Pour into a baking dish and level the top.
- Cut the tomatoes into quarters and arrange over the top of the barley mixture, then sprinkle over the cheese. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35 minutes until hot throughout, golden and crispy.
Nutrition
Delicious barley recipes
If you love barley, you’ll also enjoy these butter-braised carrots with garlic and barley, this delicious roasted vegetable and barley salad, and this baked barley risotto with butternut squash.
With spinach, mushrooms, onion and cherry tomatoes, this surely deserves a place in Extra Veg, hosted by Michelle at Utterly Scrummy and co-organised by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours.
I’m also entering it into this month’s Family Foodies, organised by Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash, which is looking for “healthier child-friendly recipes”.
Sarah
This came out great!!! Forgot the thyme, but it’s good anyway
mcdanc3
Don’t have pearl barley, but going to give this a go with risotto.
Helen
It should still be yummy! H x.
Eat Your Veg
What a scrummy and healthy dinner this sounds, I’m a big barley fan too. Thanks so much for linking up to Family Foodies ‘Healthy Kids’ event.
FFF
Thanks! And thanks for hosting 🙂
Jac -Tinned Tomatoes (@tinnedtoms)
Oh yes, I’m there. Pass me a ladle and a plate! Oh I must stop looking at food blogs when I’m hungry,
FFF
LOL! It’s better than going shopping when you’re hungry – last time I came home with all sorts of random foods!
Janice (@FarmersgirlCook)
I love barley bakes, we used to get pot barley which is pearly barley without the husk taken off. This looks very good and reminds me that I should cook with barley more.
FFF
Thanks Janice. I love pot barley too, but it does take longer to cook. I tend to use pearl barley because it’s quicker.