Fennel, Grapefruit and Barley Dish

Food pairing today.

A bulb of fennel in the veggie drawer of my fridge. What goes with fennel?

The salad varation of fennel and oranges came to my mind. But I was not in the mood for raw fennel today and I had no oranges at home.
But a pink grapefruit. Still no salad.

I wanted something warm and filling. I checked the grains and found pearl barley from the Polish store. They eat a lot of barley in Poland. I saw many dishes on different menus.

That combination of fennel, grapefruit and barley does not sound very exciting.
But no, the way of preparing the ingredients makes this into something very good.

Recipe for 2:
1 large head of fennel
1 spring onion
100 g pearl barley in a sachet
250 ml beef stock homemade
1 pink grapefruit
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper, chili flakes
2 tbsp pink balsamic vinegar

Heat up the beef stock and put the sachet with the barley in.
Cook until done, keep the cooking stock and drain the sachet in a colander.
Cut off the fennel fonds and set aside for garnish.
Cut the bulb in halves and take the core out, julienne the fennel.

In a medium pen heat up the olive oil to medium heat and put the washed fennel in. Saute for 5- 7 min, season.
Peel the grapefruit that you do not have the white skin on the outside. Squeeze the juice from the cut offs into the pan.
Add the barley and a bit of cooking stock. Cut up the grapefruit and toss it in. Add vinegar and check the seasoning.
Finish with fennel fonds.