Pearl barley salad

Summer, summer, summer, rolling before me in reels of golden sunshine that smell of freedom.

Last week, whilst sitting at my desk with dusk drawing in far too quickly, I drew up a mental list of everything I would do after exams. In an atmosphere where even cooking dinner felt like a guilty pleasure, I dreamed of my five-month break – soon becoming a languishing tumble of lie-ins in my mind. Now that my exams are over I’ve come to the inevitable conclusion that there has to be more to my summer than lie-ins and daytime tv. I have a job, now I need adventure. Days and days of tiny adventures that are tied together by a narrative of sunshine and contentment.

 

So we’ll start our summer in Highgate Wood. Picture the scene: the clouds are tumbling over each other as they chase across the sun, leaving a stencil of brightness and shade over the soft dirt ground.

I’m sitting on a log, admiring the delightful simplicity of my picnic for one. There’s homemade lemonade in a jar (because I couldn’t find a bottle) and pearl barley salad. I eat and drink and watch the sun sweep over a patch of bluebells before disappearing from the wood for good. Time to go home to plan for more picnics in the woods….and lie-ins, of course.

 Squash and Barley Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

– 250g pearl barley

– 1 butternut squash

– 250g baby spinach leaves

– 1 block of feta cheese

– 200g cherry tomatoes

– 1 small onion, chopped

– Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley 

Balsamic Dressing

– 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

– 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

– 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

– 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1. Heat oven to 200C. Toss the squash with olive oil and roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the barley for about 25 mins in salted water until tender.

2. 10 minutes before the squash has finished cooking, add the cherry tomatoes to the tray and roast.

3. Whisk together the dressing ingredients, then season with salt and pepper. Drain the barley, then tip it into a bowl and pour over the dressing. Mix together with the spinach and leave to cool.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients and serve hot or cold.