Eat. . . Greek barley salad

I most recently made this salad on the last day of the New Zealand summer, upon realising that (by fluke!) we had everything the recipe required except a capsicum/sweet pepper. As compensation for our lack of capsicum, we had Wifie's homemade basil pesto, which was deliciously fresh and tasty having been made only a matter of days before. Greek barley salad is one of my all time favourite salads, since I got the recipe from a local friend last year. She described it as something like a mix between Greek salad and tabbouleh, and I think that pretty much sums it up. I generally love salads as long as their main constituent is something other than lettuce. No matter how crispy and multi-coloured lettuce is, I am still not a big fan of it. But this hearty and filling salad is definitely a winner!

If you want to give it a try, this is what you do. . .

Boil 1 cup of dried pearl barley in 4 cups of water until tender (about 20 mins). Drain and cool the barley. Add the following ingredients:

2 tblsps olive oil

2 tblsps lemon juice

1/4 cup pesto

1/4 cucumber, chopped

1 capsicum/sweet pepper cut into small strips

1/4 to 1/2 a red onion, very finely chopped

2 big tomatoes, cut into small cubes

1/2 - 3/4 cup black olives

100g feta, crumbled into big pieces (these break up naturally as mixture is combined)

Salt & pepper to taste

Chill before serving. Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Let me know if you try it. . .