This thick-cut bacon with barley, fennel and tomato is so good we'd happily eat it all day, every day

Name: Braised thick-cut bacon with barley, fennel and tomato
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 375ml sherry; 60g brown sugar; 40.00 ml sherry vinegar; 200g fennel, fronds reserved, thinly sliced into rounds; 1 bay leaf sprig; 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed; 600g piece bacon, rind on (from specialty butchers); 200g pearl barley; 400g can cherry tomatoes; 1 punnet cherry truss tomatoes; 62.50 ml chopped dill, to serve

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https://healthimprovements.info/recipes/braised-thick-cut-bacon-barley-fennel-tomato/r6rz327n — Braised thick-cut bacon with barley, fennel and tomato

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by Jessica Brook

Jul 26, 2019

The only dish you'll be craving on a cool winters night.

1 1/2 cups (375ml) dry sherry
1/4 cup (60g) brown sugar
2 tbs sherry vinegar
200g fennel, fronds reserved, thinly sliced into rounds
1 bay leaf sprig
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
600g piece bacon, rind on (from specialty butchers)
1 cup (200g) pearl barley
400g can cherry tomatoes
1 punnet cherry truss tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped dill, to serve

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place sherry, sugar, vinegar, fennel, bay leaves and fennel seeds in a large deep-sided roasting pan and combine well. Cut the bacon into 4 thick slices and place on top of the fennel mixture. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 45 minutes.
2.

Remove bacon from the pan, add the barley, tomatoes and 1 cup (250ml) water, and combine well. Return bacon to pan on top of barley mixture and cover tightly with foil. Return to oven and roast for a further 1 hour. Uncover and roast for a further 20 minutes or until barley is tender and bacon is golden and caramelised
3.

Meanwhile, place cherry truss tomatoes on a baking tray and roast for final 20 minutes of bacon cooking time. Divide braised bacon and barley among bowls and top with dill, fennel fronds, freshly ground black pepper and roasted tomatoes to serve.