When I found out that Barony Mill had started selling beremeal berries, I had to buy a bag and try cooking with it. The website and bag do say the berries can be used in soups, stews, salads and risotto which made me wonder whether I can use it as a substitute in Bulgarian baled rice and chicken. Turns out that you can! Give this easy recipe a try.
You can buy your own here https://baronymill.com/product/orkney-bere-berries-750g/
Ingredients:
1 kg chicken thighs, with skin on and bones in
1 mug beremeal berries
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp dried spearmint or mint
3/4 tsp dried savoury (optional but excellent if you can get hold of it)
2 1/2 mugs chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
Start by making the chicken stock by placing the chicken in a pot and covering with cold water. Season with a little salt and pepper and bring to the boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Don't worry about under-cooking the meat. It will finish cooking later.
Once the meat is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, cut into smaller pieces and set aside. Keep hold of the bones for later.
If you have one, use a lidded casserole dish that can go between hob and oven. Add the oil and heat through on medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook till turning soft with brown edges. Add the beremeal berries and stir to cover them with oil. Season again with salt and pepper to taste, string together before adding your pre-made chicken stock.
Place the chicken pieces on top, stir in and add the spearmint and savoury. Cover with the lid, and place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 1 hour. Remove the lid halfway through and stir everything together. This gives you a chance to check the liquid level and add a little more stock if its looking dry. Cover with the lid again and finish cooking.
Once the hour is up, remove the lid and continue baking for another 10 mins, until the chicken skin turns a little crispy. If you don't have a casserole pan, use a frying pan to cook the onions and beremeal berries until they are covered in oil. Take off the heat and place in a baking dish. Add the stock, chicken and dried herbs. Cover with foil and proceed with baking it as for the casserole pot.
Remove from the oven and serve while hot.
Suggestion
If you don't have beremeal berries, you can always use rice as per the original recipe. Use 1 mug long grain rice and 2 mugs chicken stock. The recipe of the ingredients and method are the same.
Those left over chicken bones? Place back in the pot with any leftover stock with 1 onion, halved, and 2 bay leaves. Feel free to top up with some more water to fully cover the bones if needed. Continue simmering for another hour to get all the flavour out and have stock for later use. Use a sieve to remove the bones and onion, then either chill or freeze the stock, depending on when you intend to use it.
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