Barley with smoked bacon

Many people did not have a very positive impression about pearl barley during his/ hers childhood. However, I know a way to make it taste great! 
I found this reciepe on one packing of barley and tasted it. It was so good that also my husband cleaned the plate with bread! So before wrinkle your nose, try to cook this reciepe. It's easy to prepare and does not require many ingridients.

You will need: 

1 cup of pearl barley

3 cups of water
2 lbs of tomatoes, chopped or 1 can (28 oz) of diced unsalted tomatoes

1/2 lbs of salted smoked bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil

Wash the pearl barley several times. Leave it soaking in the water for at least 4 to 5 hours. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and continue cooking until the barley is tender and liquid is almost absorbed or use a colander to drain barley (reserve some cooking liquid). 

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and sauté the onions over medium-high heat until golden in color. Add the bacon and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the tomatoes and simmer all together on a low setting.

Stir in the cooked barley and reserved liquid. Continue to cook over low heat until heated thoroughly.

Add some salt if needed. I is not use any salt in because the bacon is salty already. But if you feel you need to add some, feel free. 

Enjoy!

Spaghetti alla matriciana

I'm living in Italy. This is the country with long traditions, also in the kitchen. Especially is famous for pasta. I decided to put here some recipes. In one of previouse post i explain how to cook Spaghetti with garlic, olio and hot pepper - It's one of the dish we cook often at home. Today I explain another one simple recipe of pasta, that you can cook for a dinner - Spaghetti alla matriciana. It's famous italian plate you can find in most of italian restourants in all the world. It dos't need many ingredients and only 30 minutes to cook!