Black Barley Salad
Serves: 4
Time: 35 mins
This is one of my favourite salads at the moment, we have made it before with normal barley but it looks so cool and has a slight twist in flavour the black barley. I am living up by Byron Bay now so unfortunately no longer have access to Harris Farm Supermarkets and all their glorious products but if you do want to cook this one with black barley then you can order online through various different providers but the one I like the best is called “the essential ingredient” they are great for all kinds of grains including another favourite of mine which is whole grain freekeh. Today I have also replaced danish feta with Meredith dairy goats cheese. mmmmm mmmm
Leftovers
When just feeding two lunch tomorrow is exactly the same as dinner but please set some aside before you add the dressing just before you are ready to eat so the spinach doesn’t go all soggy.
What you'll need
2 cups of black pearl barley
1 packet of baby spinach
1 bunch of chives
1 bunch of dill
1 large bunch of red grapes
1 packet of cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 x 200g block of Meredith dairy goats cheese
1/2 cup of raw almonds
1 large lemon
From the Pantry
olive oil
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of honey
salt and pepper
Prep and Cook
Preheat oven to 160c
Not so tricky Barley
Barley is a grain that I find will be hard for ages and then all of sudden will be over cooked, so packet instructions aren’t always accurate. The key is to keep a close eye on it and check the grains all the way through to see how cooked they are. Take a few grains out and bite into them - you want your barley to still be firm but soft the whole way through. I call this texture nutty.
Cook Barley
Rinse barley in a sieve under cold water then transfer to a large pot with around 8 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring up to the boil then turn slightly down to a gentle boil. Cook for 15 minutes then check to see how soft the barley is, cook for longer if needed but you want to drain it while there is still a very slight crunch as the barley will continue to cook while it cools. I find pearl barley cooks faster than the packet instructions say.
Toast Almonds
Spread almonds out on an oven tray and lightly spray or brush with olive oil.
Roast in the oven for 7 minutes.
Remove from the oven and once cold roughly chop but keep them big and chunky.
Chop Salad Ingredients
Slice grapes in half horizontally so that the cut side is round.
Slice cherry tomatoes in half the same way.
Cut chives into batons roughly as long as your little fingernail.
Remove the large stalks from the dill and roughly chop into a similar size.
Shred the baby spinach up. (To do this I work in batches placing a large handful flat on your chopping board, try not to spread it out too much, then carefully shred up fine with a large kitchen knife.
Peel onion and slice into a fine brunoise (tiny little squares).
What's Brunoise
Brunoise is the french classic cookery term for finely diced. To achieve this, you slice the onion in half, using your knife to cut lengthways down along the grain lines. Then you carefully slice across the cut lines and the result is a nice fine dice.
Make Dressing
In a small jar with a lid, combine lemon juice with the dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper and 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Shake really well.
Plate it Pretty
Combine all the salad ingredients (but not the goats cheese) together in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper. (always taste as you go).
Empty the dressing over the salad and mix all together really well.
In a large salad bowl sprinkle 1/3 of the salad across the base and crumble 1/3 of the goats cheese over.
Do the same again but with this layer don’t go as wide this time so that you are building up in a pyramid-like effect.
Half the remainder of your mixture and build again with the cheese, then the last of your salad and finish with crumbled of the goats cheese over the top.
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
This is a large salad if just feeding two so you will have plenty for tomorrow’s lunch, but remember to take out what you need for lunch prior to dressing. Enjoy!