I am aware that it is the start of the pumpkin season in the Northern Hemisphere, so I thought I would do a pumpkin dish for you guys, which is super delicious, but also really healthy. This dish is different to the traditional pilaff as it is made with slightly chewy, nutty-flavoured pearl barley. Sweet leeks and roasted pumpkin are superb with this earthy grain.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
- 200g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 large leek, cut into diagonal slices
- 1-2 carrots, coarsely grated
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
- ground black pepper
Preparation:
Cover the barley with cold water in a pan, bring to simmer and cook for 35-45 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Preheat the oven to 200C.
Cut the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Pour a bit of olive oil into the cloves and wrap the head in foil. Put the garlic head and the pumpkin into a roasting pan with the rosemary sprigs and half of the thyme. Season pumpkin with salt and pepper and drizzle with half of the oil. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring once, until the pumpkin is tender.
Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan. Cook the leeks gently for about 5 minutes or until the leeks are softened.
Stir in the carrots and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the barley and the stock. Season well and cook for a further 5 minutes. Peel the roasted garlic cloves and squash them into the mixture (they don’t have to be perfectly blended in).
Stir in the roasted pumpkin and the chives. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve immediately.
Enjoy.
Basil&Co 