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| The salad of fermented Black Barley with seasonal tomatoes makes a perfect summer's day lunch served with a crunchy green salad and a slice of toasted sourdough to mop up the sensational juices. Use the tastiest tomatoes you can get your hands on and try experimenting with different grains - mixed grains are delicious but note that cooking lighter grains with black barley will turn them all black! |
Sarah Cotterell and Aitana Infante have written lots of excellent recipes for us including Chickpea Miso, Elderflower & Lemon Tart with a Rye Crust and Carrot Cake with Poppy Seeds, Ginger & Turmeric Yoghurt Icing. We also sell their brilliant cookbook A La Mesa.
Recently Sarah and Aitana have been experimenting with fermentation:
"We’d often heard of people soaking grains and legumes before they ate them but beyond reducing the cooking time we didn’t quite understand why. So we began to investigate. Grains and legumes contain a compound called phytic acid which binds with zinc, calcium, iron and magnesium, meaning the absorption into our bodies of these essential nutrients is blocked. By fermenting grains and legumes before you cook them, the phytic acid is broken down, making them more nutritious and easy to digest. And it couldn’t be simpler…all you need to do is soak the grains or pulses in water for a few days. The ‘pre-digestion’ process will be even faster if you add some live cultures to the soak, such as a splash of kombucha, whey or sauerkraut liquid or something acidic like vinegar or lemon juice. This process also reduces cooking time and the amount of water needed, it just requires a little forward planning.
"In the same way, you can soak nuts and seeds to make them more nutritious and easier to digestive. As above, we soak the nuts of seeds in water with a splash of live cultures for a few days. Strain well and either let dry on a clean tea towel or if you prefer, dry roast them in the heavy-bottomed pan, before storing in an airtight container. We tend to soak nuts and seeds in small batches and repeat throughout the week as they can go a little soggy in big batches."
Serves 4 to 5
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Gently tipping its hat to gyeran bap (Korean fried eggs and rice), this is a very easy but satisfying supper. The difference here is Isabella Palmer's use of wholegrain black wheat instead of rice as a full-of-fibre wholegrain, as well as cooking it from scratch in the toasty sesame sauce.
This cake is pure comfort from a tin! Made with kibbled naked barley, it takes inspiration from the creamy warmth of porridge and transforms it into something richer, denser and custardy.
Caponata is a much-loved Sicilian dish of bold Mediterranean flavours, traditionally a rich, sweet-sour stew of aubergines, onions, tomatoes, capers and herbs. In this version, tender borlotti beans join the mix, adding extra substance, creamy texture and a satisfying protein boost, making it as perfect for a light main as it is for a side dish.
