barley groats – Toidublogi

December 14 2022

Blood sausage

andrestover National dishes, Nostalgic foods bacon, barley groats, blood powder, Estonia, pork meat 0

Blood sausage is considered one of the most traditional dishes in Estonia, which is eaten all year round today, but it is still mainly known as one of the main Christmas dishes. Classically, blood sausage is made from barley bran or gruel, pig blood, and fatty pork meat, which is stuffed into the small intestine of a pig or sheep.

One of the most common Christmas dishes that can be found on the Estonian Christmas table is long-cooked pork, which is served with boiled or baked potatoes, sauerkraut, and oven-fried blood sausages. Blood sausages are usually served with a nice lingonberry jam or pumpkin salad.

Blood sausages came to Estonia at the beginning of the 19th century from the food culture of Sweden and Latvia.

Until now, I thought that making blood sausages was something you couldn’t do for fun, but it was surprisingly easy. The casings were strong, there were no holes in them, and the sausages filled nicely. I would recommend trying to make them because homemade sausages are undoubtedly delicious and have a special place on the family Christmas table. You can find casings for making sausages at the Maarahva store https://maarahvapood.ee/toode/naturalalsed-soolatud-seasooled-28-30mm-15m-2/. You can also get good quality blood powder from there https://maarahvapood.ee/toode/verepulber-verpo-95-phf-05kg/

Preparation time: About 3 hours, plus preparations
Level: Medium
Quantity: approximately 4 kg of blood sausages

Ingredients:
1 kg of barley groats
150 g of blood powder
1 kg of pork belly
500 g of smoked bacon
About 300 ml of water
2 tablespoons of marjoram
1.5 tablespoons of oregano
0.75 tbsp ground black pepper
Half a grated nutmeg
800 g of spring onions
About 1 tablespoon of sea salt (put less salt at first, because bacon is also salty)

Salted pork intestines

Preparation:

Soak the groats overnight in cold water.
Also soak the salted intestines overnight in cold water.
Cut the pork and bacon into small pieces, and chop the onions. Fry the meat, bacon, and onion in a large pan for about 30 minutes until the meat and onion are browned and the fat has partially been melted.
Place the soaked groats in a cooking pot, and cover them with water so that the water reaches about 5 cm above the surface of the groats. Boil the groats for about 45 minutes until they are semi-soft.
Mix the blood powder with 300 ml of water, and add water little by little so that no lumps form.
In a large bowl, mix the meat with the groats, and add all the spices and the dissolved blood powder. Mix well. The taste could be slightly salty rather than sweet.
Put the sausage mixture into the sausage syringe, take a piece of soaked casing about 1 m long or longer, stuff the casing into the nozzle of the sausage syringe, moisten the casing in the meantime and continue until the entire casing is around the nozzle. Make a knot at the end of the casing and crank the sausage mixture into the casing at a steady speed.
Do not fill the intestine very tightly, it may burst during cooking or baking. The sausages must be nicely uniform, but pleasantly soft.
When the entire casing is full, make a knot at the other end as well and twist the sausage into nice, traditional pieces. To do this, press the filling on both sides of the sausage so that there are gaps where there is no filling, twist the sausage a few times, and repeat the procedure at the end of the next piece of sausage until all the sausages are nicely twisted into pieces.
When all the sausages are ready, heat the water in a large pot to about 80 degrees, slide the sausages into the water, and heat at a temperature close to boiling for about 20 minutes.
Take the sausages out of the pot, and see that there are twists between the sausage pieces and that the sausages are nicely separated. If the twists have loosened, put new twists on the sausages from the spaces between the sausages.
Cool the sausages completely on a cutting board and keep them in the refrigerator overnight. Sausages can be stored at minus 20 degrees C for a longer time.
To prepare blood sausages for lunch or dinner, thaw the sausages completely and bring them to room temperature before use.
Put lard or cooking oil in the oven pan, place the blood sausages in the pan as well, and cook at 200 degrees C for about 20 minutes until the sausages are crispy. During cooking, turn the sausages a few times so that they are with the fat on all sides and cook evenly
Serve with a Christmas roast or eat with lingonberry jam or pumpkin salad.
Ready!!

August 20 2021

Potato and Groats Porridge

andrestover National dishes, Nostalgic foods bacon, barley groats, Estonia, onion 0

The beginning of this porridge is considered to be in the first half of the 19th century. It is believed that this was done in such a way that the new, valuable food product, potatoes, had to be saved and used less, and therefore all sorts of stews where different crops were used were made from it. Mulgimaa, in the center of Estonia, considers this porridge primarily as its regional food, but now it is one of the national dishes of Estonia.
Historically, it was made by mixing barley groats and potatoes in equal quantities. This kind of porridge should be too gluey and modern variants are most probably tasting better.

I made this porridge at Mart Ustav country house in Andresjärve for the company’s family day celebration. We served it with fried ham and onions and with grilled meat which is very traditional for these events.
The food photographer was Kiira.

Preparation time: 1.5 hours, plus time for soaking the groats
Level: easy
Serves: four

Ingredients:
1.5 kg of potatoes
150 g of barley groats
Salt to season
about 50 ml of oil

Sauce:
200 g of bacon or smoked ham
2 medium onions

Preparation:
1. Soak the groats overnight in cold water.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut into four pieces, place in a soup pot, and cover with soaked barley groats
3. Add enough water to exactly cover the layer of groats. In this way, it is usually not necessary to add or remove water from the porridge. The groats must not be mixed with the potatoes, as they will burn at the bottom of the soup pot.
4. Boil the porridge until the potatoes are very tender and break when touched with a fork.
5. Remove the porridge from the heat, add salt and oil and mix the porridge. In general, it is not necessary to porridge smasher. This porridge should be made in such a way that some of the potato pieces remain almost intact and it is not completely homogeneous.
6. Fry the ham in a pan until crispy, chop the onion with additional onion and fry for a few minutes with the ham.
Use parsley for garnish.
Ready !!

February 19 2021

Orzotto with porcini and green peas

andrestover National dishes barley groats, garlic, Italy, onion, parmesan 0

Barley is a historical cereal that was used as early as 10-12 thousand years ago in the Middle East. Later, the grain spread more widely to Egypt, the Caucasus, the Hindustan Peninsula, and elsewhere. Barley has been used classically in brewing but also making porridges. Less barley has been used to make bread. In Estonia, barley has been used for food since the beginning of the first millennium as important country food.
Orzotto, which originated from northern Italy, the Venice region, is essentially similar food as risotto, only barley groats are used instead of rice.
It is a delicious food made with parmesan, good butter, and various additives such as mushrooms, bacon, peas, pumpkin, etc.

Preparation time: 1 day soaking of groats, 30-45 minutes cooking
Level: easy
Serves: four

Ingredients:

250 g of barley groats, soaked in the cold water overnight
100-150 g of grated parmesan
250 ml of white wine
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves chopped
A few tablespoons of olive oil
50 g butter
150 g boletus or other wild mushrooms
150 g frozen green peas or fresh green peas
Sea seasoning and black pepper for seasoning
A handful of finely grated Parmesan served on food to shake

Preparation:

1. The day before, pour the barley groats into a bowl of water, swelling will absorb a lot of water, so pour water so that the groats are several cm covered with water
2. To make Orsotto, chop the onion and garlic, heat the oil in a thick-bottomed pot over medium heat, fry the onion and garlic lightly for 1-2 minutes.
3. Drain the barley groats and add to the pot, stir and fry for a few minutes. Add half the amount of white wine, lower the heat to low, and stir the orzotto after every minute or two to prevent it from sticking to the bottom, and also starch is released during mixing giving the orzotto a required creaminess.
4. When the liquid is absorbed, add about 150 ml of hot water and continue mixing. Similarly, add more water until the groats are of a suitable softness. Some people like orzotto more al dente, some prefer soft-boiled orzotto.
5. At the same time lightly fry the mushrooms and green peas in a little oil to give them a slightly crispy texture
6. Season orzotto with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. When adding liquid for the last time, do not add water but only the remaining white wine. Stir the orzotto until the consistency is suitable. Again, some people prefer a more wet orzotto, others prefer a dry one. There is no definite rule here, it is important that the food remains quite creamy.
8. Add fried mushrooms and peas, mix well
6. Grate parmesan and add to orzotto, mix evenly
7. Finally, add butter, remove the orzotto from the stove, stir in the orzotto until butter melts. If necessary, season additionally with salt and black pepper
To serve, shake the grated parmesan on top.
Serve immediately.
Done !!!

February 13 2021

Pea soup with smoked pork

andrestover National dishes, Nostalgic foods, Soups barley groats, Estonia, peas, smoked pork leg, carrot 0

I have at home the second edition of Jaan Koort’s cookbook from 1896. There are four recipes dedicated to pea soup, all recipes used fresh peas to make the soup. Maybe it wasn’t customary to dry and preserve peas at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, but one thing is for sure – pea soup plays an important role in Estonian food culture.
Pea soup was made and eaten long before the birth of the Estonian nation, it has already been mentioned in ancient Greek writings. Pea soup was and still is eaten at large gatherings, it is a common food in the army, it is available in preserved soluble and dried instant soup variants.
In Estonia, pea soup with smoked pork is a classic fastelavn festival food. I am posting here a recipe for pea soup, which I plan to offer on the fastelavn day in 2021 to my colleagues and also to the clients of Café Crepp.
Making this soup requires a bit of effort and patience, but the result is enjoyable.

Preparation time: Soaking peas and barley groats overnight, cooking smoked pork leg for 2-3 hours, cooking soup for 1.5 hours.
Level: easy
Quantity: for four to eight

Ingredients:
300 g of dried peeled peas
150 g of barley groats
1 medium carrot
500 g smoked pork leg
1 medium onion
2.5-3L of water
Salt, soup herbs (optional), and black pepper for seasoning
Herbs for serving
If desired, sour cream to eat with soup

Preparation:
1. Boil the smoked pork leg on low heat for 2-3 hours until the meat is completely tender. When the liquid starts to boil, the foam may be released from the code, which should be removed
2. Soak peas and groats in water overnight at room temperature. If necessary, add water in the meantime once it has been absorbed
3. Separate the meat from the bones, remove the rind if you do not want to eat it, and chop the meat into pieces of the desired size
4. Chop the onion and fry slightly in a pan
4. Bring the water to a boil with peas and groats, peel the carrots, chop into suitable pieces and add to the soup. Boil for about an hour. Season with salt and pepper and dried herbs
5. Add the cut meat to the soup and cook until the peas and groats are soft. If the soup seems too thick, add water and season.
Ready !!