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Spiced Pumpkin Pearl Barley Salad

Spiced Pumpkin, Fetta and Pearl Barley Salad

This Spiced Pumpkin, Fetta and Pearl Barley Salad is an excellent and economical fall, winter or Thanksgiving side dish with lots of textures and delicious seasonal flavours.

Course lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Keyword Autumn, Salad, Side Dish, Winter
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 5

Ingredients

  • 1/4 Kent pumpkin (roughly 900 grams)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • Salt & pepper

Salad

  • 1 cup pearl barley
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
  • 2 stalks spring onion, finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup combined fresh mint and parsley, finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup Danish Fetta, crumbled
  • Extra parsley and mint, to garnish

Dressing

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Honey

Instructions

  1. First, cook the pearl barley. Place barley into a medium saucepan (that has room for barley to expand) with 3 cups of water. Cook covered with a lid on medium heat for about 30-35 minutes or until barley is soft but chewy and expanded in size. You will need to check on this a few times during cooking to make sure the water is not evaporating too quickly - add another 1/2 cup if it is. The water should be mostly or completely absorbed by the time the barley is cooked. Drain and rinse with cool water and set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
  3. To make the spiced oil, place 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl with cinnamon, sumac, garam masala, a large pinch of salt and some cracked black pepper. Stir to combine.
  4. While the barley is cooking, prepare the pumpkin. I cut my unpeeled pumpkin into 5 large wedges but you could also peel and cut into 2cm cubes if you prefer. Place onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and brush with the spiced oil. Bake in the oven, basting every 20 minutes for about 50-60 minutes, flipping the pumpkin wedges over halfway and rotating the oven tray so they cook evenly.
  5. To make the dressing place 1/3 cup of olive oil into a medium jar with the mustard, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey and salt and pepper. Secure the lid and give it a shake and then taste. Add more of any ingredient to your personal liking. Set aside until ready to assemble the salad.
  6. To assemble the salad, place the cooked and cooled pearl barley into a large bowl, then add cranberries, pecans, spring onion and sliced herbs and toss to combine. Add half the dressing, some salt and pepper and toss again. Place the cooked pumpkin wedges on top and scatter with crumbled fetta and extra parsley and mint leaves. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and serve.