Pot barley, orange and sesame pudding
This is like rice pudding with texture, for those who don't mind using their teeth to eat pudding. It's also totally delicious.
2-4
Serving size
Ingredients
½ tbsp each white and black sesame seeds, toasted (or use 1 tbsp white)
1½ tbsp dark muscovado sugar
125g pot barley, covered with cold water and soaked overnight
750ml whole milk
½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped or ½ tsp vanilla paste
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon,
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Salt
20g tahini
For the orange syrup:
1 medium orange
40g caster sugar
¼ tsp orange blossom water
Method
- Start with the orange syrup. Shave off a long strip of orange peel, avoiding the pith, and put in a small pan. Trim off top and bottom of the orange, then cut down its sides to remove all the skin and pith. Working over a small bowl to catch any juice, cut out the segments by slicing between the membranes. Add the segments to the bowl and set aside.
- Add the caster sugar to the pan with the peel and add 75ml water. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves – this should take less than a minute. Set aside to cool, then add the orange segments and juices, and the orange blossom water.
- Roughly crush the sesame seeds in a pestle and mortar with a teaspoon of muscovado sugar, and set aside.
- Drain and rinse the barley. Tip it into a medium saucepan with the remaining muscovado sugar, milk, vanilla pod and seeds, citrus zest and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally, until the barley is cooked but still has some bite: if it's becomes very thick, add a little milk towards the end. Leave to cool for five minutes, then remove the vanilla pod and divide between four bowls. Dribble a teaspoon of tahini over each portion, spoon over the orange segments and syrup, sprinkle with sesame and serve.