Charred leek, pearl barley and cheshire cheese salad
By:
Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.
- Published: 30 Oct 24
- Updated: 30 Oct 24
In this hearty salad, pearl barley and chunky strips of caramelised leek are coated in a cheesy buttermilk dressing – pure winter pleasure.
Browse and bookmark more filling salad recipes.
Before you start
Put the apple slices in a bowl of water with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice added to prevent them oxidising and turning brown.
Here the cheese adds a sharpness to the creamy dressing, but you could use feta or blue cheese instead.
Ingredients
- 150g pearl barley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 leeks, halved lengthways and cut into 10cm lengths
- 10g salted butter
- 150ml buttermilk (see tips)
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 120g cheshire or lancashire cheese, crumbled
- 10g chives, finely chopped
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- 2 granny smith apples, cored and sliced (see Before you start)
- 100g baby leaf spinach
- 2 tsp sunflower seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
Method
- Put the pearl barley in a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook at a rolling boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil, then the leeks, cut-side down. Cook for about 5 minutes, pressing down every now and then with a spatula to get a good char. Flip the leeks over and add the butter to the pan. Reduce the heat to low-medium, cover with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes until the leeks are tender all the way through.
- In a jug, stir together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, cheese and most of the chives.
- Drain the pearl barley and put in a large bowl. Season and stir in the remaining 1 tbsp oil and the vinegar. Add the apple and spinach and toss together.
- Transfer the pearl barley mix to a serving plate and top with the leeks, then pour over the cheese dressing and sprinkle with chives and the toasted sunflower seeds.
- Recipe from November 2024 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 542kcals
- Fat
- 33g (9.9g saturated)
- Protein
- 14g
- Carbohydrates
- 44g (14g sugars)
- Fibre
- 7.9g
- Salt
- 0.5g
delicious. tips
You can use any leftover buttermilk to make pancakes or scones.
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