Barley salad with goat's cheese toast recipe
- 100 g (3.5oz) Pearl barley or pearled spelt
- 500 ml (17.6fl oz) Vegetable or light chicken stock (make it half strength if using a cube)
- 2 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped with salt to make a paste
- 1 Pinch salt and pepper
- 400 g (14.1oz) Quick-cook veg, cut into small pieces
- 100 g (3.5oz) Goat's cheese
- 4 Slices bread
- 2 tsp Honey
- 1 Lemon
- 50 ml (1.8fl oz) Extra-virgin olive oil
- 25 g (0.9oz) Soft herbs (parsley, basil, chives, mint or dill)
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
- Starting from cold, bring the barley and stock up to the boil, then simmer gently for about half an hour.
- When you can see the barley through the liquid, put a lid on it and turn the heat right down: the idea is that the barley absorbs all the flavour of the stock, rather than having it thrown down the drain.
- If the barley is cooked but there is still some liquid left, boil it hard for a few minutes until it's all gone, taking care not to let it catch on the bottom.
- Once the barley is cooked, stir in half of the garlic paste, then season well and spread out on a plate to cool.
- Rinse the pan out, fill it with salted water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Drop all of your vegetables into it, stick a lid on and prepare a bowl of very cold water, preferably iced.
- As soon as the veg pan comes back to the boil (2-3 minutes), strain and tip the blanched vegetables into the cold water (this keeps them green and stops them cooking, which is essential for this super-fresh and crunchy salad).
- Once the veg is cool, drain it.
- Split the goat's cheese among the four pieces of bread, then drizzle with honey - about half a teaspoon on each.
- Put a piece of foil on a baking tray and bake them in the oven for about 12-15 minutes.
- You will smell it when they are ready: the cheese will have melted and the honey caramelized.
- Rustle up the dressing with the juice of half the lemon.
- Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil, stir in the remaining garlic and finish with the chopped herbs.
- In a big bowl, mix together the barley and veg bits with the dressing and some seasoning, then taste.
- You want this one to be dressed pretty sharply to play with the honey.
- Serve with lemon wedges and the scrummy toasts.
barley, garlic, salt, s cheese, bread, honey, lemon, extravirgin olive oil, herbs
Taken from www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/10571/barley-and-bits-salad-with-honeyd-goats-cheese-toast (may not work)