I think I’ve broken some kind of record. I get home from work, kick off my shoes, pour a glass of vino and ponder the options of what to make for dinner. If I sit here long enough, going out will be the only option (one that I always prefer) but I pick up my phone and check any updates from fellow bloggers. One that happens to perk me up and get me enthused about dinner is this – a freshly posted recipe by the fabulous Maria at Scandi Foodie. First the image has me interested and once I read through the ingredients I go through my head and realise I have just about all of them. The pumpkin I don’t have so as I put the barley on to boil and crank up the oven I duck up the road and grab a butternut pumpkin.

In typical fashion I’ve adapted the recipe somewhat. I substituted the barberries with currants, the almonds with pinenuts and threw in a bit of spice in the form of cumin, cayenne and isot (Turkish sundried capsicum). Basically stuff laying about in the pantry. The outcome is somewhat different from the flavours Maria used. It’s a bit Turkish, a bit Middle Eastern and maybe a bit European. It really works. The smokiness of the isot really permeates through the salad and along with the cayenne, it adds a nice spicy tingle to your lips.

Thanks for the inspiration, Maria!

spiced pearl barley with balsamic roast pumpkin

ingredients

• 1½ cups pearl barley
• 350 g butternut pumpkin, cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp nigella seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tbsp balsamic glaze
• 1/3 cup chives, chopped
• 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp quince paste
• ¼ lemon, juiced 
• 2/3 cup continental parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp ex virg olive oil
• Sea salt flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp currants
• 1/3 cup pinenuts, toasted
• 2 tsp isot (Turkish sundried capsicum)

method

1. Preheat oven 200°C.
2. Combine the pumpkin, olive oil, cumin and nigella seeds, garlic and balsamic glaze in a mixing bowl. Bake on a greased tray for 20-30 minutes until tender and caramelised, turning once during cooking.
3. Boil the barley in plenty of water for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Drain well and set aside.
4. In a separate mixing bowl combine the chives, white balsamic, quince paste, salt, pepper & lemon juice. Mix to form a paste and then add the parsley, ex virg olive oil, currants and isot. Stir to combine.
5. Add the cooked barley and toasted pinenuts and mix well before adding the cooked pumpkin. Mix gently.

Tagged as: Recipes, Vegetarian