Ingredients

Method

• 2 fresh jalapeños, sliced and seed for less intense heat (optional)
• 1 t fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• 1 lemon grass, peeled and diced
• ¼ cup celery, peeled and sliced
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 3 T mirin
• 2 T lime juice
• 260 g pearl barley, cooked and rinsed
• 2 Israeli cucumbers, sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Microherbs, to garnish
• Hass avocados, for serving

Method

Ingredients

Place the chillies, ginger, lemongrass, celery and olive oil in a mortar and pestle and pound into a chunky paste.

Stir through the mirin and lime juice. Mix the dressing into the cooked barley and add the cucumbers.

Toss through the microherbs and serve with fresh avocado halves.

Cook's note: This beautiful salad would be fantastic with grilled lamb chops, but is also superb on its own. An awesome addition to a picnic basket or a simple lunch spread, barley is inexpensive, healthy and filling, so this is the ultimate guilt-free food. Creamy Hass avocados add a bit of indulgence and fresh jalapeños smashed with ginger and mirin make it unforgettable.

Discover more recipes featuring chilli here.