Barley & Wild Rice Pilaf with Pomegranate Seeds
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed
3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 cup pomegranate seeds
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest, preferably organic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened.
2. Add pearl barley and wild rice; stir for a few seconds. Add broth and bring to a simmer.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the wild rice and barley are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes.
4. Toast pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until light golden and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
5. Add pomegranate seeds, lemon zest, parsley, and toasted pine nuts to the pilaf; fluff with a fork. Serve hot.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This was good, although maybe not great, considering the amount of time and effort put in to seeding the pomegranate. It was very pretty and Christmasy, though. I used a "Royal Blend" rice (white and brown basmati, red rice, and wild rice) instead of just wild rice, plus the barley. I also added some garlic when sauteeing the onions. It was very good!
Gorgeous picture, phylbea-- mine looked exactly, exactly like that! Mmm!
This was impressive looking and delicious. Easy to make as well. Wonderful blend of flavors.
I just bought and used my first pomegranate at Thanksgiving time. Buy the whole fruit....cut it in half, and then start cutting discs till its all cut up. Then you can push the seeds through into a bowl and discard the rest. At least that's what I did...and I had a TON of seeds. I used them on spinach salad with a balsamic dressing and they were awesome! My 5 year old was eating them by the spoonful too.
This sounds really good and interesting, so I think I might make it for Christmas dinner. I have never used/eaten pomegranate seeds (or pomegranates in general, for that matter)...can you buy them alone, or do you have to seed the pomegranate yourself? How do you do that, and how many are needed for 1 cup of seeds? Thanks!
ummmm.....totally amazing! Unfortunately not everyone got to enjoy this dish at my Thanksgiving dinner. We had so much food and i was still making it when the guest started to arrive. By the time i brought it out everyone was pretty much stuffed. Oh well....that just meant more for me and my boyfriend. i LOVE the way the pomegranate seeds pop in your mouth. Such a lovely contrast to the grains.
We loved this!!! I made the recipe as is and wouldn't change a thing. It was delicious AND beautiful on our Thanksgiving table! It's definitely a "keeper" as we call them in our house. My daughter raved and even asked for it in her thermos for her lunchbox at school! I'm hoping I get "side dish" for our next dinner group just so I can make it again.
This was the easiest and just the best feast dish ever. I banged the grains onto the heat at the beginning of fussing with other dishes, and set my partner to shelling a pomegranate... when everything else was done I was able just to stir in the pretty and delicious seasoning bits and scoop it onto the platter.
I will be making this often. It's amazing.
If you're using it as a main dish, I recommend doubling the recipe: the servings are wonderfully portioned for side-dish status, but I can easily see using this one as the central attraction in the future. :)
Here is a neat thing about how to get the seeds out of the Pomegrantate in the easiest/best way. http://inpraiseofsardines.typepad.com/blogs/2005/10/pomegranate_tri.html
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