pearly greens

If you're using baking to cheer yourself up and to search for inspiration, it's probably best you infiltrate your eating with things like this pearl barley and asparagus salad.

Continuing my foray into ancient and healthy grains, just like with quinoa I had never used pearl barley before. It also cooks just like brown rice though, and it puffs up nicely to give a rich nutty flavour. 

I chopped up some asparagus, and thinly sliced some broccoli and lay them in a baking tray and drizzled over olive oil, a few chilli flakes, some cracked pepper and some coarsely grated lemon zest. I grilled that at a high heat for about 15 minutes only, making sure they retained their crunch. 

In a bowl, add the cooked pearl barley, the greens from the tray, some baby rocket, and some sun sprout crunchy bean combo (a mix of adzuki, lentil sprouts and pea sprouts). 

I made a dressing by mixing up some chilli infused olive oil, some red wine vinegar, a splash of balsamic, some fresh lemon juice and a bit of zest, and some cracked pepper. Whisk well with a fork and dress the salad. 

It's the big three - healthy! delicious! easy! And vegan incidentally, although some feta cheese would not be out of place. I had just this for dinner and leftovers for lunch, but it would work well alongside a nice fresh piece of fish for a complete meal, especially with that citrus coming through. 

And after a hunk of that red velvet cake and with summer around the corner, it's important to remember everything in moderation...