Anooshavoor (Turkish Barley and Apricot Porridge)

Although whole grain porridges are a staple breakfast food in my kitchen, I'd never considered barley a morning grain until I came across this recipe in my treasured copy of Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Café for "anooshoavoor", an apparently traditional Turkish barley porridge that's flavored with apples, apricots, honey and cardamom. It's one of the most delicious and satisfying porridges I've ever had.

Cooked in a risotto style with liquid slowly added to very low heat, the result is a creamy, sweet porridge surrounding the still chewy grains of barley. But although the preparation and instructions are so extraordinarily simple, it takes about two hours to cook so it's not a breakfast for a weekday unless you make it the night before and reheat the next morning.

Mollie's recipe calls for cooking the barley in apple juice, but using apple cider instead gives the porridge an especially full, rich apple taste.

Update: It appears that I was a little premature describing the dish as an "apparently traditional Turkish" porridge, as I have recently been informed that the dish is based on one of Armenian origin rather than strictly Turkish. Called "anoush abour" or "sweet soup", it typically incorporates apricots, dried fruit and walnuts, and is served during the Armenian Christmas and the New Year. I suppose that I can blame Mollie Katzen for the confusion, as the spelling that she gave returns no indication of the Armenian origin of the word in internet searches — it is quite possible that she was served the dish in Turkey. But in any case, do enjoy, it is one of my favorite breakfasts at any time of year.

Anooshavoor (Turkish Barley and Apricot Porridge)

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Café Cuisine: Turkish Published on September 27, 2007 Sweet, creamy and wonderfully fragrant barley and dried apricot porridge spiced with cardamom and cooked slowly in a risotto style Preparation: 5 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour 25 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup pearl barley 1 1/4 cups water 1 1/2 cups apple cider or apple juice, room temperature 6 green cardamom pods 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 5 or more dried apricots, to taste, sliced or chopped 1 tablespoon honey Instructions: Rinse the barley and soak overnight in a small saucepan in the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to its lowest setting and cover. Simmer, stirring every 10 minutes or so, for 45 minutes while checking the water level (if the porridge dries, add a little more water). Stir in a 1/2 cup of the apple cider. Put the cardamom pods in a tea ball and add to the saucepan along with the salt. Cover, and continue to simmer, stirring every 10 minutes as before. After 20 and 40 minutes, stir in another 1/2 cup portion of the apple cider, while continuing to stir every 10 minutes. When the last portion of the apple cider has cooked in the barley for 20 minutes, you should end up with a thick, but not too thick porridge. If it's too thick for your taste, thin it with a little more apple cider. Remove the tea ball and stir in the honey and apricots, letting them settle for a few minutes so that the apricots soften. Serve hot or at room temperature, topped with milk, cream or yogurt. Makes 2 to 3 servings