When I think of this drink...it always takes me back to being in Chile visiting my family in the summer...this is something that you would be served at anyone’s house or, you could buy when out and about in the streets of Santiago.
On a hot summers day, it is such a refreshing and satisfying thing to have...and the best bit is, is that it’s so easy to make.
Ingredients
1/2 cup pearl barley
250g dried peaches(nectarines if you can’t find peaches)
1-2L water
stick of cinnamon
4 cloves
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
how to prepare...
If you have time, soak the dried peaches in the 1 litre of water over night, if not you can stew them on the same day, but make sure to do it early as you want them to cool down.
bring the peaches to a boil with the cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar to taste, reduce and let bubble away until you see them plump up. This process will take less time if you soaked them over night.
in another saucepan add the barley which you have rinsed under running water, then add about 1litre of water and bring to boil, then reduce heat and leave on a gentle boil until grain plump also...this may take about 30 min....so important to keep an eye on the water level.
once barley cooked drain and rinse under cold water, then let it cool down along with the peaches.
When both peaches and barley are nice and cool, now your’re ready to enjoy.
serve in a nice long glass with a tablespoon full or so of barley then add a some peaches with the lovely stewed juices...find a lovely spot to sit and eat this great and refreshing drink.
P.S in this picture , you’ll see that I used prunes and apricots as, I didn’t have any peaches...so you can use these dried fruits also and it’ll taste just as great. I had to improvise as I had this great desire to have this lovely drink!!
