Warm Barley & Roast Vegetable Salad
We all know whole grains are good for us, but they do have a way of making us sigh before we start. Still, every time I make them, I wonder why I ever put it off. Let your rice cooker do the heavy lifting, if you’ve got one — the brown rice setting works a charm. Dressing the grains while they’re still warm is the secret to flavour-packed bites instead of sad, bland filler. Perfectly cooked grains have a nutty richness that makes them just as happy tucked into salads as they are under something slow-cooked and saucy.
Cook double while you’re at it and freeze half for later; future you will be very pleased. I love the carrot-and-broccoli combo here, but honestly, this is a recipe that couldn’t care less about rules. Sweet potato, beetroot, cauliflower, pumpkin, red onion — whatever you’ve got rolling around in the crisper will do nicely. Swap the barley for freekeh or brown rice if that’s what to hand. Basically, it’s a choose-your-own-adventure recipe.
ingredients
- ½ cup hulled barley, washed
- 1.5 cups water/stock
- 1 large carrot, cut in large chunks
- 1 cup broccoli florets (half a large head of broccoli)
- extra virgin olive oil
- ½ lemon, juiced
- fine salt
- white pepper, ground
- 100g feta, cubed
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- spring onion or chives or pickled red onion to garnish
Cook the barley gently in simmering water or stock for about 45–60 minutes, until tender but still a bit nutty — no mush, please. Drain if needed, then dress it straight away with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper while it’s still warm enough to soak everything in.
Steam the carrot and broccoli until just tender, then toss them with olive oil and salt before roasting at 190°C for 10–15 minutes. You want some colour and those lovely roasty edges that make everything taste more interesting. Let them cool a bit before they meet the barley.
Top it all with your chosen fixings. I choose feta because cheese makes everything better, chopped nuts for fun and pickled red onion for an acid accent. Plus it looks pretty and I always want to eat something more if it looks good.