A Search for Great Vegan Food in San Diego

My Favorite Holiday Barley Casserole

What does a vegan make for Thanksgiving?  While there are plenty of festive options, my “go to” recipe is for the Barley Casserole from my “go to” vegan cookbook, The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.

 

 

This casserole is hearty, extremely flavorful, and popular with both vegans and non-vegans.  It also tastes equally delicious hot or cold.

 

[caption id="attachment_1590" align="alignnone" width="640"]Aerial View of Barley Casserole Aerial View of Barley Casserole[/caption]

 

The first step is to prepare the barley.

 

[caption id="attachment_1576" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley Boiling Barley Boiling[/caption]

 

And strain it!

 

[caption id="attachment_1577" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley in Strainer Barley in Strainer[/caption]

 

Gather the ingredients…

 

[caption id="attachment_1578" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley Casserole Ingredients Barley Casserole Ingredients[/caption]

 

And sauté the garlic and onion.

 

[caption id="attachment_1579" align="alignnone" width="640"]Sauteed Garlic and Onion Sauteed Garlic and Onion[/caption]

 

Then add the veggies.

The recipe also calls for shoyu.  What is shoyu and how is it different from soy sauce?  The short answer is that shoyu is natural soy sauce.  Natural soy sauce is made from a combination of soybeans, roasted hard red wheat, sea salt, and water while mass-produced soy sauce is made from chemically produced defatted soybean pulp.  To learn more about the differences between shoyu and soy sauce click on:

http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/soy-sauce-shoyu-tamari/

When I made this recipe, I used Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, a soy sauce alternative.  Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is a certified Non-GMO, gluten-free, protein concentrate made from soybeans.  It tastes like soy sauce and can be substituted in any recipe.

 

 

The bottom line is that you can use soy sauce, Shoyu, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos in this recipe and achieve great results!

 

[caption id="attachment_1580" align="alignnone" width="640"]Veggies for Barley Casserole Veggies for Barley Casserole[/caption]

 

Add the spices…

 

[caption id="attachment_1581" align="alignnone" width="640"]Spices for Barley Casserole Spices for Barley Casserole[/caption]

 

And you’ve completed the barley layer!

 

[caption id="attachment_1582" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley Mixture Barley Mixture[/caption]

 

Next up, is the Tahini Dressing.

 

[caption id="attachment_1583" align="alignnone" width="640"]Tahini Sauce Ingredients in Food Processor Tahini Sauce Ingredients in Food Processor[/caption]

 

Blend all of the ingredients in food processor.

 

[caption id="attachment_1584" align="alignnone" width="640"]Tahini Dressing in Food Processor Tahini Dressing in Food Processor[/caption]

 

Mix 3/4 cup of Tahini Dressing to the barley mixture.  It’s then time to assemble the casserole!  Start with a layer of barley.

 

[caption id="attachment_1585" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley Layer Barley Layer[/caption]

 

Then add a layer of Tahini Dressing.

 

[caption id="attachment_1586" align="alignnone" width="640"]Tahini Dressing Layer Tahini Dressing Layer[/caption]

 

Then add a second layer of barley.

 

[caption id="attachment_1587" align="alignnone" width="640"]2nd Barley Layer 2nd Barley Layer[/caption]

 

And a final layer of Tahini Dressing and put the casserole in the oven.

 

[caption id="attachment_1588" align="alignnone" width="640"]2nd Layer of Tahini Dressing 2nd Layer of Tahini Dressing[/caption]

 

While baking, mouth watering aromas will fill your home.    And after 35 minutes, the Barley Casserole is done!

 

[caption id="attachment_1589" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley Casserole Out of Oven Barley Casserole Out of Oven[/caption]

 

Dishes like this ensure that I never miss meat.  Dig in and enjoy!

 

[caption id="attachment_1575" align="alignnone" width="640"]Barley Casserole in Bowl Barley Casserole in Bowl[/caption]

 

 

Vegan Barley Casserole
 
Ingredients
  • Barley Layer
  • 2 cups hulled barley
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 5 tablespoons shoyu
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon dried basil
  • ¼ teaspoon oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¾ cup tahini dressing (see below for recipe)
  • Tahini Dressing
  • ¼ small onion, diced
  • ½ cup tahini
  • 1 tablespoon shoyu
  • pinch of garlic powder
  • pinch of paprika
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried basil or ½ teaspoon fresh basil
  • pinch of dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350
  2. Boil 3 cups of water and add barley.
  3. Cook until tender (about 55-60 minutes)
  4. Add olive oil to saucepan and saute onion and garlic
  5. Add carroty, celery, shoyu, salt, basil, oregano, and garlic powder, until vegetables are tender.
  6. Add barley to vegetable mixture and set aside.
  7. Combine onion, tahini, shoyu, garlic powder, paprika, dried or fresh basil, dried oregano, and water to food processor for tahini dressing
  8. Mix ¾ cup Tahini Dressing to barley mixture
  9. Transfer half of the barley mixture to a 8 x 12 baking dish
  10. Drizzle half of the Tahini Dressing on top of the barley mixture
  11. Add the other half of the barley mixture on top of the tahini layer
  12. Drizzle the other half of the Tahini Dressing on top of the second barley layer
  13. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes

 

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