Lentil & Barley Salad

Supplied by Sam (Senior Guide)

INGREDIENTS

200g (1 cup) pearl barley

200g cooked lentils

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

½ a bunch of fresh cilantro or flat leafed parsley, chopped

fresh mint leaves, chopped

3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil

Juice of 2 - 3 lemons

1 tablespoon of sumac

Fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper (to taste)

Time

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves

2 - 4 (main or side)

Storage

Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

METHOD

Cook. In a saucepan over high heat, bring to the boil the barley and 3 cups water and a generous pinch of salt (optional). Keep an eye on the saucepan as barley will give off a lot of foam at first and can boil over. Once it has reached a rapid boil, reduce to a simmering heat and continue to cook for a further 25 minutes. The barley is done when it has tripled in volume and is soft yet chewy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Flavour. To the cooled barley add the remaining ingredients and stir well until combined.

Serve.

Notes from Sam: I stole this recipe off my Auntie Jill who makes it as a Lentil and Quinoa Salad. Her version has a bunch of spring onions as well. Mix it up however you please! I will often add cucumber and or celery too.

This delicious recipe is already 100% plant-based!

To make this plastic-free use vegetables bought fresh and plastic-free from markets, CSA programs and even some supermarkets. In summer I buy cherry tomatoes fresh and in cardboard punnets from Farmers' Markets or wait for them to be included in my CSA box. If I can't get small tomatoes plastic-free, I simply buy tomatoes on the vine and cut them up for this salad.
Dried lentils and pearl barley can be purchased loose and in bulk from a bulk store or bulk section of your supermarket and you can use your own jars and bags. Check out some of the stores in the Sea to Sky, Vancouver area and more here.

Support your local farmers by looking to your local Farmers' Market and stockists of locally farmed vegetables.

Tomatoes s are typically available fresh July through October in BC. Cilantro February through December, parsley March through November, green onions May through September, celery May through December and fresh cucumbers July through September.
Check out what foods are in season in BC when HERE.
You can also look at We Heart Local BC for updates each month as to what's in season.Another great way to ensure you're using seasonal produce is to subscribe to a CSA Box with a local farm and structure your meals around the seasonal produce you've received that week!

Photos by Amit Lahav and Joice Kelly