Summer nectarine, goats cheese and barley grain bowl

If the saying were true – you are what you eat – I think I’d quite like to be this vibrant grain bowl. It’s full of colour, delightful textures and flavours, and it just screams SUMMER!

Super healthy, one-bowl meals became a trend a few years ago and continue to be popular for good reason. They are satisfying, full of flavour and texture, and are easy to throw together. Fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, zesty dressings: it’s fun to experiment!

I hope you will agree that I found a winning combination with this barley grain bowl, where juicy nectarines, dates, nuts, mint and goats cheese steal the show.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup pearl barley

120g cherry Tomatoes

120g mange tout Peas

2 nectarines

1 bunch Mint

1 tablespoon finely diced shallot

1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

80g goat’s cheese

50g dried dates

2 tsps roughly chopped almonds

1 tbsp ras el hanout

salt & pepper

Method

1. Rinse the barley well in plenty of cold water.Fill a medium pot with salted water; cover and heat to boiling. Once boiling, add the barley and ras el hanout. Cook, uncovered, 18 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Turn off the heat. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot.

2. While the barley cooks, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

• Pull off and discard the tough string that runs the length of each mangetout.
• Pit and roughly chop the dates.
• Pick the mint leaves off the stems.
• Halve the tomatoes.
• Pit and medium dice the nectarines.
• Peel and finely chop the shallot.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the halved tomatoes, diced nectarine, chopped shallot, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; stir to combine. Set aside to marinate, stirring occasionally, at least every 10 minutes. Taste, then season with salt and pepper if desired.

4. While the nectarine and tomatoes marinate, heat a medium pan (nonstick, if you have one), until hot and then add the roughly chopped almonds. Toast them until they are a nice golden brown colour and then transfer to a bowl. Using the same pan, add a teaspoon of olive oil and add the mange tout in an even layer; season with salt and pepper. Cook, without stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned and softened.

5. To the bowl of cooked barley, add the marinated nectarine and tomatoes (including any liquid), mange tout, chopped dates, and almonds. Stir to combine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve topped with the mint and goats cheese (crumbling before adding).

Et voilà! There you have a tasty grain bowl, perfect for any day of the week!