Roasted Veg & Goats Cheese Barley

Emma Fillmore
May 10, 2016
2 min read

I don’t consider myself a particularly skilled cook and until recently I would need to follow a recipe to the letter to make anything other than salad. This year I have decided to really learn how to pair ingredients together and come up with my own recipes. I will be sharing my triumphs with you…and quietly counting my failures as learning experiences!

I find the best way to build a recipe is to think about the main ingredient you want or need to use and build from there – in this case it was goats cheese. Roasted veg goes brilliantly with goats cheese and add loads of flavour to any dish. The pearl barley adds bulk and fibre and I just can’t include goats cheese in a meal without throwing in a few nuts.

This was super easy to throw together with no standing over a pan – just set your timer and go. It would also taste great the next day so try making double for a healthy packed lunch.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

50g pearl barley
1 medium courgette
1 large red pepper
1 medium onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup curly kale, finely chopped
60g goats cheese crumbled
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp pine nuts

Dressing:

2 cloves of garlic
4 sundried tomatoes in oil
1 tbsp. of the tomato oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. water

Method:

Rinse the pearl barley and then add to a pan of boiling water. Simmer for 45-60 minutes until tender.
While the barley is cooking prep your veg. Chop the courgette into thick matchsticks, the pepper into strips and the onion in thick rings (don’t cut your veg too small or they’ll shrivel to nothing)
When the barley has 30 minutes left preheat your oven to 180 C. Toss the peppers and onions in half of the olive oil, season and roast for 15 minutes
Add the courgette and garlic cloves (still in their skins). Toss with the other veg and remaining oil and roast for another 15-20 minutes
Drain the barley and mix with the kale leaves in a large bowl
When the veg is done squeeze the garlic out of their skins and blitz in a blender with the other dressing ingredients
Combine the roasted veg with the barley, and dressing and divide between two bowls
Top each bowl with the pine nuts and goats cheese and dive in!