Vegetarian
Fresh green peas go brilliantly with lemon and mint- and a little bit of feta cheese never fails to make the taste buds sing! This a sturdy, satisfying salad to take along to picnics and barbecues and goes very nicely with a pastured lamb chop or two.
Ingredients (serves 4-6 as a side)
½ cup pearl barley
3 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested & juiced
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
75 g soft sheep’s milk feta, roughly crumbled
½ cup mint leaves, half finely shredded & half whole
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Combine barley with 750 ml water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and cook at a gentle boil for about 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain, cool under running water, then drain thoroughly.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and fill a large bowl with iced water. Cook fresh peas for 2-3 minutes or frozen peas for about 5 minutes, until bright green and just tender. Drain, cool completely in the iced water, then drain thoroughly.
- For the dressing, combine garlic, lemon juice, zest and olive oil with plenty of salt and pepper in a small jar. Shake to combine.
- To assemble the salad, combine barley and peas in a wide mixing bowl and dress with two-thirds of the dressing. Taste then adjust dressing and seasoning. Fold in the mint leaves and feta and serve on a large platter.
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