Yesterday I got a Facebook question from a friend about what to do with barley.  I hadn’t thought much about it in the past except to put it in a soup, like a chicken and barley soup.  So I did a little research and noticed that people were substituting it for couscous in dishes and rice etc.  Then I thought about how I could make it into a meal.  I know I just wrote about acorn squash but because it’s so abundant lately I decided that I would try to stuff one.  I’ve seen stuffed butternut squash, a recipe my father usually makes.  Or stuffed peppers etc.  But I wanted to do something that would be less caloric and leave you satisfied.

As soon as I got out of work yesterday, ok I walked the dog first, I went to the grocery store.  I walked around the store searching for barley, not wanting to ask where it was, it truly is a man thing.  I even got out my smart phone and googled it.  The websites I found said I would find it in the rice section or the international foods.  I searched the rice aisle for what felt like an eternity.  Finally I turned around and looked in the bean section.  There it was!  The barley was with all of the Goya products?  Who would have thought.  So I walked out of the store with my barley, acorn squash, and a few other ingredients.

The first thing I did when I got home was wash the acorn squash and cut them in half.  I rubbed them down in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I placed them in a 375 oven, the cut half faced down on the pan.  Then I took the barley and put it in a pot with some water and turned that on.  I chopped some onion put in a pan with some olive oil and sauteed it along with some garlic.

Once the onions and garlic were sauteed I took them off the heat and put them in a bowl.  I then sauteed the mushrooms, I only have one small saute pan at home.  I added the mushrooms to the mixture, added salt and pepper and some parmesan cheese.  At this point I felt like my mixture needed some color so I cut up some cherry tomatoes and added them.  Since we were on the mediterranean theme I decided I’d add a little bit of balsamic as well.

After about 30 minutes of the squash being in the oven I took it out.  I touched it to see if it gave a little and felt like it was done.  If your not comfortable doing this I suppose you could get a fork and gently prick it, like you would a potato, to check for doneness.  Then I stuffed the squash with the mixture and topped it with some more parmesan cheese.

I was done with the dish early and had to wait for my roommate to get home, I told her I was cooking dinner.  Right before she got home I put the squash back in the oven for about 15 minutes to make sure it was warm.  I also wanted to make the top golden brown but that didn’t work too well!  I served it with a side of asparagus that I’d picked up from the store.

Barley Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cup Barley

3 Cups of Water

1 Acorn Squash

1 Yellow Onion

1 cup chopped mushrooms

2 Gloves Garlic

1/2 Cup Halved Cherry Tomatoes

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. Cut Acorn Squash in half.  Coat in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in a 375 degree oven.

2.  Place barley and water in a small saucepan.  Boil barley until all of the water is absorbed.  Taste it, if it’s not done add more water to the pot.  I did this at least once.  Barley will come out tasting a little tough, or like an al dente noodle.

3.  Saute Onion and Garlic in saute pan with a little bit of olive oil.  When done take out of pan, put in a separate container and saute mushroom, add mushroom mixture to onion and garlic.

4.  When barley is finished put it in the mixture with the onions, garlic and mushrooms.  I did not have to drain my barley.  It might be possible that you will have to though.  Once all is added together add parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes to the mixture.

5.  Once squash is cooked in the oven.  Touch quickly with your hands or pierce gently with a fork to make sure it is done.  Take it out and add topping to the center of it.  Add a little bit more parmesan cheese on top and then place in oven for 15 more minutes.