Belboula, Moroccan Barley Porridge
Belboula is the barley porridge of Moroccan winters, thin enough to drink from a glass and warm with anise and cinnamon. Traditional versions lean on milk and sugar; this one keeps the comfort but takes its sweetness from blended dates and its richness from soy milk, so nothing refined goes in. Hulled barley is the key, cooked long and slow until it thickens itself, then half of it blended for body while the rest stays whole and chewy. Ground fennel stands in for the aniseed that scents the classic, and a last hit of orange zest lifts the whole bowl. It reheats through the week with a splash of water or milk.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Hulled barley, rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups Unsweetened soy milk
- 3 wholes Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 tsp Fennel seed, ground
- 1/2 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
- 1 whole Oranges, zested and juiced
- 2 tbsp Almonds, slivered and toasted
Method
- Simmer the barley in 3 cups (710 ml) water in a covered pot until the grains are soft and beginning to burst, 45 to 50 minutes. Hulled barley keeps its bran, so it takes longer than pearl barley but holds far more fiber, and the slow simmer is what draws out the starch that thickens the pot with no cream.
- Scoop out about half the cooked barley and blend it smooth with 0.5 cup (120 ml) of the soy milk, then stir it back into the pot. Blending only part of the grain gives you both a creamy body and whole kernels to chew, which is what sets belboula apart from a smooth semolina porridge.
- Blend the dates with 0.25 cup (60 ml) hot water into a loose paste and stir it in along with the rest of the soy milk, the fennel, and the cinnamon. Dates carry sweetness and fiber together, so they thicken as they sweeten, and the ground fennel gives the anise note a Moroccan cook would reach for.
- Warm through, then take the pot off the heat and stir in the orange zest and juice. Adding the citrus last keeps it bright, since a long boil cooks off the perfume and leaves only sourness behind.
- Ladle into bowls or glasses, the way it is often drunk, and scatter the toasted almonds over the top. The almonds are the accent, not the base, adding crunch and a little whole-food fat that carries the bowl to lunch.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 290 calories, 10 g protein, 9 g fiber, 65 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
