Name: Old Bohemian Christmas Kuba with Mushrooms
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients: 300 g pearl barley; 40 g dried mushrooms; 2 pcs onion; 4 cloves garlic; 60 g butter; 2 teaspoons marjoram; 1 teaspoon caraway; 0.5 teaspoon ground pepper; 1.5 l water; 1 teaspoon salt

Step by step process

Preparation

1
Christmas kuba is built on barley and mushrooms. Pour hot water over the dried porcini and let it soften for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the pearl barley several times in a sieve, transfer it to a pot, cover with fresh water, add salt and cook for about 25 minutes until almost tender.
TIP:
Rinse the pearl barley several times before cooking to remove dust and excess starch. Cook it in salted water until tender, but do not overcook it so it keeps its texture and works well in soups, salads, and casseroles.
2
Finely chop the onion, crush the garlic and drain the soaked porcini. Set aside some of the fragrant mushroom soaking liquid to moisten the mixture later if needed.

Cooking and baking

3
Melt two thirds of the butter in a pan, add the onion and cook until translucent. Then add the porcini and caraway seeds and briefly saute until the mixture becomes intensely aromatic.
4
Drain the cooked barley and mix it with the mushroom mixture, garlic, marjoram and ground black pepper. Add more salt to taste and, if needed, a little of the reserved mushroom liquid so the mixture is not dry.
5
Transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish, dot the top with the remaining butter and bake at 180 °C for about 20 minutes, until the surface is lightly golden.