A lovely salad – traditional to use pearl barley for this but also delicious with quinoa or couscous. Use any available vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 300g pearl barley or quinoa or couscous
  • 2 plum tomatoes
  • 1/3 cucumber
  • 3 spring onions
  • ½ green or yellow pepper
  • Herbs e.g. parsley/mint
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  • Cook the grain (see below) and leave to cool
  • Chop the salad ingredients and herbs and add to the grain
  • Whisk the oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper together
  • Mix thoroughly into the tabouleh. Serve

Pearl barley: Add 1 portions of pearl barley to 3 parts boiling salted water in a large saucepan. Simmer until al-dente (about 45 minutes). Strain

Quinoa: Rinse 1 cup of quinoa thoroughly. Place in a saucepan with 1.5 cups of cold water and a little salt. Bring to the boil, stir once, cover and cook over a low heat for 15-20 minutes until soft and the water has been absorbed.

Couscous: put 1 cup of couscous in a heatproof bowl, pour 1 cup of boiled water or stock over. Cover with clingfilm and leave to sit for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork to separate the grains when cooked.