Black Kuba
”Kuba” is a Czech dish that my family only makes for Christmas. Usually, we would eat it for lunch on Christmas Eve. It can be made vegetarian or with smoked ham or bacon.
Ingredients
- 1 c barley the smallest grain you can find
- 1 onion
- 6 slices of bacon
- Mushrooms
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Lard bacon fat or oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tbsp marjoram
- Pickles for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Put the barley in a pot, add 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed.
- Chop the onion, bacon, garlic and mushrooms.
- Heat the fat over medium high. Saute the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the bacon and the fat render. Add the mushrooms and sauce for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic last and sauce for about a minute. Dump in the barley and season with salt, pepper and marjoram.
- Grease a baking dish with bacon fat or butter. Transfer the mushroom mixture in the dish and press down with a wooden spoon.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Serve with pickles.