Chilli con carne served with barley

Ingredients for 4 portions:

• 200g Barley
• 2 kidney beans tin
• 100g mince soya meat
• 1 tinned tomato
• 50g leek
• 1 medium onion
• 1 scotch bonnet (chilli pepper)
• 1 teaspoon of Paprika powder, coriander powder & cumin powder
• 3 garlic cloves

Method:

Start by soaking the soya mince in boiled water for 10 minutes. When rehydrated, the mince will double in volume. Drain, squeeze out the water and set aside. Also put the barley to soak in cold water for 20 – 30 minutes.

Chop and blend 1/4 onion with the tomato, leek, the chilli pepper and garlic cloves. Set aside.

Finely chop the rest of onion and fry it in a sauce pan with 3 table spoons of oil. Once the onion is browned, add the now rehydrated soya mince and with salt and black pepper. Stir fry for 3 minutes until the mince takes a bit of colour. Now add the blended ingredients and stir well with a spatula, then cover for 10 minutes.

Remember to stir from time to time to avoid burns. All you should hear by this time is frying noises from the pan. This means it is the time to add the kidney beans with the coriander, paprika and cumin. Stir, then pour in 400ml of water. Cover the pan and leave it to simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, rinse the barley and place it on the hob with 250ml of water, 1 table spoon of oil and salt.Living the pot uncovered on high heat, allow the water to evaporate for 20 minutes. Once the water has evaporated, fluff the barley and add another 10ml of water, then cover. This time, cook on low heat for 10 minutes to complete the cooking process with steam only. By this time the chilli corn should be ready.  Serve and enjoy.

Barley is a good alternative for those who do not like rice, cooking it without soaking beforehand can take up to 80 minutes, it is therefore best to soak it before hand to save on energy.