Mulgipuder

Ingredients

• 200 g pearl barley
• 900 g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 700 ml water
• 50 g butter
• 100 ml warm whole milk
• 250 g smoked pork belly or slab bacon, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 150 g soured cream, to serve

Before you cook

• Rinse the pearl barley under cold water, then soak it in cold water for 30 minutes and drain.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into large even chunks.
• Cut the pork belly into 1 cm cubes and finely chop the onions.

Steps

1. Put the drained barley in a heavy pot with the 700 ml of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt.
2. Bring the pot to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, until the grains have swollen and most of the water is gone.
3. Lay the potato chunks on top of the barley without stirring them in.
4. Cover the pot again and cook over low heat for 25 minutes, letting the potatoes steam above the barley until a knife slides straight through them.
5. Take the pot off the heat and add the butter and the warm milk.
6. Mash everything together with a potato masher until the barley and potato become one thick, slightly rough porridge.
7. Season with the remaining salt and the black pepper, then cover the pot to keep it warm.
8. Put the pork cubes into a cold frying pan and set it over medium heat.
9. Fry the pork for 10 minutes, stirring, until the fat has rendered and the cubes are crisp.
10. Add the chopped onions and cook for 10 minutes, until deep golden and soft in the pork fat.
11. Spoon the mulgipuder into warm bowls and make a shallow well in the top of each.
12. Spoon the pork and onions with their fat into the wells and add a dollop of soured cream to each bowl.