I am still eating fairly wintery here, so this sits somewhere between the seasons. Warm enough for a cold night, green enough that it does not feel like the middle of July.
It is also one of the better iron meals you can make, which is why it turned up this week.
What you need
Serves 4.
One leek, two celery sticks, olive oil. A cup of pearl barley. A litre of stock. Two cups of frozen peas. A bunch of silverbeet or a couple of large handfuls of spinach. A lemon. A handful of parsley. Salt and pepper.
Plus your protein, and there is a list of options further down.
How to make it
Slice the leek and celery and soften them in olive oil over a medium heat for five minutes or so. You want them soft rather than coloured.
Add the barley and stir it through the oil for a minute, then pour in the stock. Bring it up, then turn it down and simmer for around 25 minutes, until the barley is tender with a bit of bite left in it. Stir occasionally, since barley likes to settle on the bottom.
Add the peas and the chopped greens for the last five minutes.
Take it off the heat, then lemon juice and parsley. Use more lemon than feels right, for reasons explained below. Salt and pepper to finish.
The protein
Add whichever suits you and whatever is in the fridge or pantry.
A tin of cannellini beans or lentils, drained and stirred through with the peas.
Shredded chicken, added at the end if it is already cooked, or poached in the stock for the last fifteen minutes if it is not.
Flaked hot smoked trout, stirred through off the heat so it does not break up entirely.
Halloumi, cubed and fried separately, then dropped on top so it stays crisp.
Or eggs poached directly into it in the last five minutes, which is the version I make most often, and the least washing up.
Why the lemon is important
Barley, peas, greens and legumes all carry non-haem iron, which is the form that is harder for your body to take up. Vitamin C changes that considerably, and it has to be in the same meal rather than at some other point in the day. We went through how that pairing works properly a while back.
Lemon juice at the end is the easiest way to get it in. So use more than you think you need. A whole lemon across a pot this size is not too much.
The flip side is what you drink with it. Tea and coffee both cut non-haem iron absorption substantially, and a cup with the meal is the worst timing. Leave an hour either side. There is more on iron and timing if that is useful.
A few notes
Barley takes longer than rice and it does not mind being ignored, so it suits a pot you are half paying attention to.
It thickens overnight into something closer to a risotto. Loosen it with a splash of stock or water when you reheat.
A cup of cooked barley carries around 6g of fibre, and with the peas and greens this lands as a high fibre meal, which is where most of us fall short.
It freezes reasonably well without the greens. Add those fresh when you reheat.
If you want it richer, a spoon of tahini stirred through at the end works nicely and brings some calcium with it.
The takeaway: One pot, mostly vegetables, and a protein you chose rather than defaulted to. The barley, peas and greens carry a useful amount of iron, and the lemon at the end is what lets you absorb it. Leave your tea or coffee an hour either side of eating it.
The science behind this post:
- Hurrell R, Egli I (2010). Iron bioavailability and dietary reference values. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91(5), 1461S-1467S. Ascorbic acid enhances non-haem iron absorption when consumed in the same meal; polyphenols in tea and coffee inhibit it.
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australian Food Composition Database. Iron and dietary fibre content of pearl barley, green peas, silverbeet, legumes and tahini. foodstandards.gov.au
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Iron and Dietary Fibre. Requirements by sex and life stage. nrv.gov.au